An amazing gold rush is underway in the coldest region of Siberia despite Russian attempts to 'hush-up' the loss of much of nine tons of treasure which fell out of the back of a plane.

The cargo worth £265 million was unsecured in the hold of an ageing aircraft and its weight broke the hatch on takeoff - with precious metals falling onto the runway and swamps near Yakutsk airport.

Police say some 172 bars - 3.5 tons - have been located, and the company which lost the valuables said it was all now secure.

But locals are certain this is not correct and they are scouring frozen marshes and swamps trying to get rich in temperatures of minus 24C.

Residents have even drawn up treasure maps showing where gold and silver - called doré bars - are likely to have fallen.

A video shows one bar of gold and silver found in a snowdrift, and another highlights men scouring frozen marshes to make their fortunes.

It was even reported that flights to Yakutsk, the world's coldest city, are overbooked as Russians fly in for the gold rush.

To read the complete articles, see:
Gold galore! Siberians scour the tundra for $370m worth of gold, platinum and diamonds that FELL OUT of a plane - and one lucky treasure hunter finds a gold bar worth $500k in the snow(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5508951/Siberians-rush-gold-diamonds-fell-plane.html)
Loosely in the sky with diamonds! Russian plane loses its $400million cargo of gold and jewels after a hatch falls off during takeoff(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5504253/Plane-loses-265-million-cargo-gold-jewels.html)