For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
A Russian military transport plane carrying 15 people has crashed, the Kremlin’s defence ministry has reported, allegedly killing all on board.
The ministry said the Il-76 aircraft with eight crew and seven passengers on board crashed in the Ivanovo region, roughly 435 miles from the border with Ukraine.
Unverified footage online shows the plane descending to the ground as a plume of black smoke trails behind it, while a fire can be seen on the aircrafts right side. The ministry said an engine fire during takeoff was the likely cause of the crash.
It is the second time this year that a Russian Il-76 military transport plane has crashed.
Two months ago, another Il-76 crashed while it was allegedly carrying dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war (PoWs).
State media outlet Shot issued a statement on the Telegram messenger service suggesting that five bodies had been discovered at the site of the crash, which will likely be quickly cordoned off by Russian security services.
Russian military blogger War Gonzo, one of the pre-eminent, Kremlin-approved war commentators, claimed that the plane had taken off from the Severny airfield in Ivanovo.
The airfield, roughly 430 miles from the border with Ukraine, was reportedly targeted by Ukrainian intelligence forces in May last year using drones ladened with explosives.
According to Russian security services, they had been intending to hit an A-50 reconnaissance warplane worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
The airfield has been known to accommodate multiple military transport and recon planes.
Details about this latest incident are scant but, at the time of writing, it appears to be related to internal issues rather than the result of a Ukrainian attack.
The Interfax agency wrote that the plane crash occurred “during takeoff for a scheduled flight”.
