Russia’s Ministry of Defence announced on Wednesday that one of its military aircraft crashed over the Crimean Peninsula, resulting in the deaths of all 29 people on board.
According to the ministry, the aircraft was carrying 23 passengers and six crew members at the time of the incident.
In an official statement, authorities said communication with the An-26 military transport aircraft was lost during a scheduled flight on March 31 at approximately 18:00 Moscow time (15:00 GMT).
A search and rescue team later located the crash site and confirmed that there were no survivors.
Preliminary findings indicate that there is no evidence of external interference, with a technical malfunction suspected as the likely cause of the crash. An investigative commission has been deployed to the site to determine the exact circumstances of the incident.
