At least 29 people on board have killed after a Russian military transport aircraft crashed into a cliff in Crimea, the Russian defence ministry said on Wednesday.
According to the TASS news agency, which cited the ministry, contact with the aircraft was lost at around 6 p.m. local time (1500 GMT) on Tuesday during a scheduled flight over Crimea.
The peninsula, characterised by sweeping mountains descending to the Black Sea coast, was annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014.
“The defence ministry reported that a search team located the crash site,” TASS said. “According to information from the scene, six crew members and 23 passengers on board were killed.”
The ministry did not specify the total number of people on board, but made no mention of any survivors. The aircraft, an Antonov An-26 — a light tactical military transport — has for decades been widely used to carry cargo and up to 40 passengers over short and medium distances.
“There was no external impact on the aircraft,” TASS quoted the ministry as saying, suggesting that missiles, drones, or bird strikes were not involved.
“The preliminary cause of the crash is believed to be a technical malfunction. A military commission is working at the site,” the ministry added.
Russia’s defence ministry did not immediately respond to requests for further comment outside normal business hours.
The An-26, in service since the late 1960s, has also been used by civilian airlines for freight transport. However, the model has been involved in several fatal incidents over the past decade.
hz/sa
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