MOSCOW, March 12. /TASS/. Pilots flying the Il-76 military transport plane that crashed in the central Russian region of Ivanovo were killed in the incident, Orenburg Region Governor Denis Pasler said.

The crew was from the Orenburg Region, he said on Telegram.

"Grave news came from Ivanovo today. An Ivanovo Region-based Il-76 military transport plane has crashed. This is a great loss for the whole country and our armed forces. Orenburg pilots were on board by a fateful turn of events," the governor said.

The governor expressed condolences to the families and friends of the pilots.

"This is an irreparable loss for the families, for the 117th Military Transport Aviation Regiment, where the boys served. Real heroes who served their homeland to the end," he said.

The plane crashed at about 1 p.m. Moscow time. It went down in the forest outside the village of Bogorodskoye, an eyewitness told TASS. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Il-76's engine caught fire during takeoff for a routine flight. There were eight crew members and seven passengers on board. Not all of the people that were onboard are yet accounted for.