The Russian Airbus A310 veered off a runway, slammed into a concrete wall and burst into flames as it came into land in Irkutsk with 200 people on board.
There are conflicting reports over how many people survived with one official saying that 63 were found alive.
Eleven people walked away from the crash site, a complex of garages near the airport and 52 others were hospitalised according to the official.
However, other rescue officials quoted by Russian news agencies said up to 70 people may have survived.
The incident occurred when the passenger plane careered off the tarmac in slippery conditions with investigators saying that a hydraulic brake failure looked like the possible cause.
The plane then broke through a wall and ploughed into the garage complex used by local residents.
Russia's Vesti 24-hour news channel, broadcast images recorded on a mobile phone showing flames and thick black smoke billowing from the fuselage.
"It was terrifying. People were shouting. People were on fire. I saw people on fire. Then I jumped out," said Margarita Svetlova, a young survivor interviewed on Russia's Channel One television station.
One witness said he saw survivors clambering out onto the plane's wing and walking from the scene, many of them suffering burns.
Holidaying children
Fourteen children aged 12 and under, as well as 12 foreigners were on board the plane operated by S7 Airlines, until recently known as Sibir, said Russian news agencies.
The foreigners were two Azerbaijanis, two Belarussians, three Chinese, three Germans and two Poles.
Also among the passengers was a group of children on their way to a holiday in the scenic Lake Baikal region near Irkutsk.
The passengers also included the head of the FSB security service for the Irkutsk region, General Sergei Koryakov.
It was the second recent crash of an Airbus in Russia, after an Armenian Airbus A320 crashed into the Black Sea near Sochi in May killing all 113 on board.
The black box flight recorders had been found and would be sent to Moscow for examination.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a government enquiry into the crash and while there have been initial theories as to the cause there has been no official reason given.