Russia plane crash: Cargo aircraft carrying 15 people plummets to ground shortly after take off

Local media said there were no survivors
ES Composite
Jordan King12 March 2024

One of Russia’s military cargo planes has crashed with fears all 15 people on board were killed.

The country’s defence ministry said one of its Ilyushin Il-76 aircrafts crashed shortly after take-off on Tuesday.

It was in the Ivanovo region when one of its engines caught fire, it is believed.

Russian online news services said there were no survivors.

Unverified videos on Russian social media networks showed a plane with one engine in flames plummeting downwards.

A dark plume of smoke was shown rising into the sky as a helicopter circled.

The Il-76 is a heavy-lift transport plane with four engines which has been used by the Russian military since the Soviet era in the 1970s.

It comes on the same that Ukraine launched a wave of drone attacks on Russia including the Moscow region, hitting at least one oil refinery.

Smoke is seen billowing from the crash site

At least 25 drones and seven missiles were used in the large-scale air strikes, Russia's defence ministry said.

One local official said the assault had left at least one refinery in the world's second-biggest oil exporter on fire.

Both sides have used drones to strike critical infrastructure, military installations and troop concentrations in their more than two-year war, with Kyiv hitting Russian refineries and energy facilities in recent months.

Russia's defence ministry said it had downed 25 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions including Moscow, Leningrad, Belgorod, Kursk, Bryansk, Tula and Oryol.

One engine appears to be on fire in the footage

Russian local officials reported attacks on a string of energy facilities.

"An attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack using 25 drones on objects in the territory of the Russian Federation was stopped," the defence ministry said in a statement.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

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