MOSCOW, April 1. /TASS/. The An-26 military transport aircraft, with which contact was lost, crashed into a cliff, a source from the crash site told TASS.

"The plane crashed into a cliff," the source said.

Contact with the An-26 military transport aircraft was lost during a routine flight over Crimea at about 6:00 p.m. Moscow time (3:00 p.m. GMT) on March 31. The Russian Defense Ministry has said that a search and rescue team located the crash site later. According to reports from the scene, six crew members and 23 passengers on board died.

There was no damaging effect on the aircraft. Technical malfunction is the preliminary cause of the crash. The Defense Ministry’s commission is working on the scene.