Moscow, April 1
A Russian An-26 military transport plane crashed in Crimea, killing all 29 people on board, Russian news agencies reported early on Wednesday, citing the Defence Ministry.
The Soviet-designed turboprop aircraft was carrying out a scheduled flight over the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, when contact was lost at about 1800 local time on Tuesday, the reports said. The plane was carrying six crew members and 23 passengers, according to the reports.
Interfax cited the Defence Ministry as saying preliminary information indicated the crash was caused by a technical malfunction and that there was no sign of any “damaging interference”. State news agencies TASS and RIA Novosti, citing sources at the scene, said the aircraft crashed into a cliff.
