A Russian military transport plane has crashed in occupied Crimea, killing all 29 people on board, with investigators citing a likely technical failure.
MOSCOW: A Russian Antonov-26 military transport plane has crashed in occupied Crimea, killing all 29 people on board, according to the country’s defence ministry.
The crash occurred near the village of Kuibyshevo in the Bakhchysaray district on Tuesday, as confirmed by Russia’s investigative committee.
The committee stated that the aircraft was carrying seven crew members and 23 passengers at the time of the incident.
Russia’s defence ministry reported that contact was lost with the plane at around 6:00 pm Moscow time during a scheduled flight over the Crimean Peninsula.
A search and rescue team located the crash site, confirming the deaths of all six crew members and 23 passengers, according to a report by the state TASS news agency.
Preliminary information from the scene indicated no signs of external impact on the aircraft’s wreckage, TASS reported.
The investigative committee has opened a probe into a violation of flight safety rules, suggesting technical failure as the likely cause at this stage.
Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and has since administered it as part of its own territory.