Russian military transport plane crashes in Crimea, killing 29, Defense Ministry says俄罗斯国防部称，一架俄罗斯军用运输机在克里米亚坠毁，造成29人死亡。
A Russian An-26 military transportplane crashed into a cliff in Crimea, killing 29 people onboard, due to a possible technical malfunction, Russia’s DefenseMinistry said early Wednesday, according to news agencies.
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A Russian An-26 military transport plane crashed into a cliff in Crimea, killing 29 people on board, due to a possible technical malfunction, Russia’s Defense Ministry said early Wednesday, according to news agencies.
TASS news agency, quoting the ministry, said communication with the aircraft was lost at about 6 p.m. local time on Tuesday on a planned flight over Crimea. The peninsula, covered in sweeping mountains leading down to the coast of the Black Sea, was annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014.
“The Defense Ministry reported that a search team found the site of the catastrophe,” TASS reported. “According to a report from the site, six crew members and 23 passengers on board were killed.”
The ministry report did not say how many people were on board, but it made no mention of any survivors on the An-26, a light tactical military transport that has for decades been a mainstay that can carry cargo and up to 40 passengers over short and medium distances.
“There was no impact on the aircraft,” TASS quoted the ministry as saying, implying that objects like missiles, drones and birds were not involved.
“The preliminary cause of the crash is a technical malfunction. A commission from the military is working at the site,” it said.
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Russia’s Defense Ministry did not respond immediately to a request for comment outside normal business hours.
The An-26 has been in service since the late 1960s and has also been used by airlines to carry freight, but the model has been involved in a number of deadly crashes over the last decade.
A Ukrainian An-26 crashed during a technical flight in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region in 2022, killing one person. Another aircraft crashed on a training flight in northeastern Ukraine in 2020, killing all but one of the 27 people on board.
Eight people, including five Russians, were killed when an An-26 crashed in South Sudan in 2020. Four of 10 people on board were killed when an An-26 crashed on landing in Ivory Coast in West Africa in 2017.
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据新闻机构报道，俄罗斯国防部周三早些时候表示，一架俄罗斯安-26军用运输机在克里米亚撞上悬崖，机上29人全部遇难，事故原因可能是技术故障。
塔斯社援引俄罗斯国防部的消息称，周二当地时间下午6点左右，一架计划飞越克里米亚的飞机在飞行途中失去联系。克里米亚半岛地势低洼，群山环绕，一直延伸到黑海沿岸，于2014年被俄罗斯从乌克兰手中吞并。
据塔斯社报道，“国防部报告称，搜救队已找到事故现场。现场报告显示，机上6名机组人员和23名乘客遇难。”
该部报告没有说明机上有多少人，也没有提及安-26运输机上是否有幸存者。安-26是一种轻型战术军用运输机，几十年来一直是主力机型，可以短途和中途运送货物和多达40名乘客。
塔斯社援引国防部的话说：“飞机没有受到任何影响”，暗示导弹、无人机和鸟类等物体没有参与其中。
声明称：“初步判断事故原因是技术故障。军方已成立调查委员会，正在现场开展工作。”
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普京称，俄罗斯防空系统应对去年阿塞拜疆战机坠毁、造成38人死亡的事件负责。
俄罗斯国防部在正常工作时间之外未立即回应置评请求。
安-26 自 20 世纪 60 年代末开始服役，航空公司也曾用它来运输货物，但该机型在过去十年中卷入了多起致命坠机事故。
2022年，一架乌克兰安-26飞机在乌克兰东南部扎波罗热州进行技术飞行时坠毁，造成一人死亡。2020年，另一架飞机在乌克兰东北部进行训练飞行时坠毁，机上27人中除一人外全部遇难。
2020 年，一架安-26 飞机在南苏丹坠毁，造成包括 5 名俄罗斯人在内的 8 人死亡。2017 年，一架安-26 飞机在西非科特迪瓦降落时坠毁，机上 10 人中有 4 人死亡。