Moscow, March 31, (dpa/GNA) – Authorities launched an investigation on Wednesday, after a Russian military aircraft crashed on the Russian-annexed Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula of Crimea.
There were seven crew members and 23 passengers on board, the investigative committee in Moscow said. Earlier, the defence ministry reported 29 dead, including six crew members and 23 passengers.
The crash had a technical cause and no external impact was found, it said.
The aircraft crashed in a mountainous forest area near the village of Kubyshev in the Bakhchysarai district, not far from Crimea’s capital Simferopol, according to the committee.
The criminal investigation is examining possible violations of safety regulations in flight operations or in preparing the flight. Military investigators and forensic experts are working to clarify the causes of the crash.
The defence ministry said earlier that it lost contact with the An-26 aircraft on Tuesday evening at around 6 pm (1500 GMT).
Russia’s military uses Crimea to launch attacks on Ukraine, against which Moscow has been waging war for more than four years. The Antonov turboprop aircraft are also used by the military as transport planes.
Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014 after an internationally unrecognized referendum. It launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and has been waging a devastating war against its neighbour ever since.
Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Russian sites in Crimea, including with drones.
GNA