The temperature in Yakutsk, one of the coldest regions in Russia, is usually well below zero. On March 15, it was no different. The weather was sunny, but freezing cold at -21 degrees Celsius. What was not predicted in the weather report was that showers were expected of gold, platinum, and diamonds.

That morning, a Nimbus Airlines AN-12 cargo plane was taxiing to takeoff. As it gathered speed and took off, its cargo hatch was blown away. This exposed its load of valuable metals worth at least $368 million. Soon, the runway and surrounding areas were strewn with gold bars and other treasures. By the time the plane made an emergency landing at Magan, 16 miles from Yakutsk, it had lost most of its valuable cargo.

As expected, local residents immediately scrambled to find pieces of the treasure. The authorities have, however, cordoned off the area over which the plane traveled and launched a recovery attempt to regain the treasure.

According to a statement by the Interior Ministry, "172 bars have been found weighing around 3.4 tons." It is estimated that the total cargo weighed about nine tons and was loaded from the nearby Kupol mine.