Russian military plane crashes in Crimea, 29 killed

RUSSIA ACCIDENTS PLANE CRASH
A Russian military plane has crashed into a cliff in Crimea, killing all 29 people on board. -EPA

A Russian An-26 military transport plane has crashed into ‌a cliff in Crimea, killing 29 people ‌on board, Russian news agencies report the country's ‌defence ministry as saying.

TASS news agency, quoting the ministry early on Wednesday, said the crash site had been located in Crimea, a ‌peninsula jutting ‌into ⁠the Black Sea, annexed by Russia ​from Ukraine in 2014. 

The ministry said 23 passengers and six crew members had been killed.

The media reports did not say ⁠how many ‌people were ​on board, but they did not mention ​any survivors.

"The AN-26 ‌aircraft, with which communication was lost earlier, ​crashed into a cliff, it was reported to TASS from the site ​of ​the crash," TASS ​news agency reported.

RIA news ‌agency said according to an initial assessment, technical problems were believed to have caused the crash.

Russia's defence ministry did not ​respond immediately to a request for comment ​outside normal ⁠business hours.