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Thirty casualties of plane crash over Crimea: what is known about missing An-26 aircraft

The An-26 military transport aircraft crashed into a cliff

© Sergey Malgavko/TASS

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

There were no survivors.

TASS has compiled the main facts about the incident.

About emergency

- 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 discovered the crash site later.

- The An-26 military transport aircraft crashed into a cliff, a source from the crash site told TASS.

Casualties

- Recent updates indicate that there were seven crew members and 23 passengers on board, the press service of the Russian Investigative Committee has confirmed.

- According to earlier reports from the scene, there were six crew members and 23 passengers on board, with no survivors.

Investigation

- Technical malfunction is the preliminary cause of the crash.

- The Defense Ministry’s commission is working on the scene, with no significant damage to the aircraft reported by the department.

- The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case into the matter under article 351 of the Russian criminal code (violation of flight rules or preparatory regulations).

- Search operations are being conducted by military investigators and forensic experts from the Russian Investigative Committee’s main directorate for the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, as well as employees of the emergencies and interior ministries, across the mountainous forest area of Crimea’s Bakhchysarai district.

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