A Russian military transport plane crashed in annexed Crimea on Tuesday evening, killing at least 29 people on board, according to Russian officials and state news agencies, as reported by Fox News.
The aircraft, identified as an An-26 military transport plane, was carrying out a scheduled flight over the Crimean Peninsula when contact was lost around 6 p.m. local time.
Russian defense officials reported that the plane had six crew members and 23 passengers on board.
The An-26 military transport plane was carrying out a scheduled flight over the Crimean Peninsula, the reports said. The military lost contact with the plane around 6 p.m. on Tuesday. https://t.co/flmNyuzc9S
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Initial reports from Russian news agencies citing the Defense Ministry stated that all six crew members and 23 passengers were killed in the crash.
However, Russia’s Investigative Committee later said that seven crew members and 23 passengers had been on board, leaving uncertainty over whether any crew member may have survived.
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Sources at the scene told state agencies Tass and RIA Novosti that the aircraft crashed into a cliff.
The wreckage was located in a mountainous, forested area in the Bakhchisarai district, where emergency crews launched search and recovery operations.
Russia’s Investigative Committee confirmed that a criminal probe has been opened into the crash, focusing on possible violations of flight regulations. Authorities said the investigation is ongoing as search teams continue to examine the crash site.
The Interfax news agency cited the Defense Ministry as saying a suspected technical malfunction may have caused the crash. Officials added that there was no indication of “damaging interference” with the aircraft.
The crash occurred in Crimea, a region Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. The area has remained a focal point of geopolitical tensions since that time.
Accidents involving Russian military aircraft have been reported multiple times in recent years, particularly since Russia deployed troops into Ukraine.
In December, an An-22 military transport plane crashed in Russia’s Ivanovo region, killing seven crew members. In October, a MiG-31 fighter jet crashed in the Lipetsk region.
Earlier, in April 2025, a Tu-22M3 bomber went down in the Irkutsk region of Siberia.
A previous major incident occurred in October 2022, when a Su-34 bomber crashed into a residential area in the city of Yeysk, located on the Azov Sea, sparking a large fire and killing 15 people.
Russian officials have not released additional details about the identities of those killed in the Crimea crash. The cause of the incident remains under investigation as authorities work to determine what led to the aircraft going down.
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