MOSCOW, March 6. /TASS/. Russia’s Investigative Committee has launched a criminal case over the crash of a Russian military transport plane near Hmeymim airbase in Syria, the committee’s spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko informed TASS.

"The Russian Investigative Committee’s military investigators have launched a criminal case under Section 351 of Russia’s Criminal Code (Violation of flight rules or Preparations for Them)," she said.

According to Petrenko, the plane was carrying out a planned flight in Syria. According to preliminary data, an Antonov An-26 transport aircraft hit the ground 500 meters from Hmeymim airfield.

The Russian Defense Ministry earlier reported that a Russian An-26 transport plane crashed during its landing approach at around 15:00 Moscow time on March 6. According to preliminary data, there were 26 passengers and six crew members aboard the aircraft. None of them survived. A technical fault could have been the cause of the plane’s crash, the ministry said, adding that the Defense Ministry’s commission would examine all possible versions of the crash.