Russian military transport plane crashes in Crimea; 29 dead

A Russian military transport plane crashed in Crimea, killing all 29 people on board, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry and state media.

The crash happened at about 6 p.m. local time on Monday during what Russian officials described as a routine flight, when contact was lost with the An-26 military transport plane over Crimea.

Russian officials said 29 people were killed, including 6 crew members and 23 passengers. Russian officials said there was no sign the aircraft had been shot down.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said the preliminary cause was a technical malfunction. A source cited by Interfax said the aircraft crashed after hitting a cliff.

The An-26 is a Soviet-designed twin-engine military transport aircraft that has been widely used across the former Soviet Union for cargo and personnel flights.