"A Boeing 737 crashed as it was coming into land. There were 61 people on board. They are all dead," said a spokesman from the local ministry, quoted by the official TASS news agency.
There were 55 passengers and six crew members on the plane, the official added.
The accident happened at 0620 IST according to an official statement from the emergencies ministry.
"The Boeing 737 on the Dubai to Rostov-on-Don route caught fire (after crashing)," said the statement, adding that the fire was brought under control by 0730 IST.
"We are aware of an incident involving our flight FZ981 from Dubai to Rostov-on-Don. We are investigating further details and will publish an update once more information is available," the airline said in a post on its Facebook page.