A Russian military transport plane with eight crew members and seven passengers crashed on Tuesday in western Russia, more than 700 kilometers from the border with Ukraine. That reports the Russian state news agency TASS on the basis of the Russian Ministry of Defense. One of the plane's engines reportedly caught fire during takeoff.
It is not yet known whether the occupants survived the accident. The cause of the fire is also not yet known. The aircraft was of the Il-76 type, which was already used by the Soviet Union in the 1970s.
According to Russia, it is the third time since the invasion of Ukraine that an Il-76 aircraft has crashed over Russia. On June 24, 2022, five people were killed and four injured in what was likely an engine failure. In January this year, an Il-76 crashed over Russia carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war and 7 others, all of whom were killed. It is believed that that plane crashed after being shot at, although it is still unclear by whom.
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