Russian An-26 military transport plane crashes in Crimea, 29 killed

A Russian An-26 military transport plane crashed into a cliff in Crimea, killing at least 29 people.The Russian Defense Ministry said the crash may have been caused by a technical failure. According to Reuters, the plane was executing its planned flight when contact was lost around 6 pm local time on Tuesday.Search teams later located the crash site. Officials said all six crew members and 23 passengers on board were killed and no survivors were reported.The ministry added that there were no signs of any external influence on the aircraft, suggesting that factors such as missiles, drones or bird strikes were not involved.A military commission has been sent to investigate the cause of the crash.“The aircraft was not affected in any way. The preliminary cause of the crash was a technical failure. A military committee is working on the scene,” the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.The An-26 is a light tactical transport aircraft launched in the late 1960s and widely used for military and civilian purposes.However, the company has been involved in a number of fatal accidents in recent years, including crashes in Ukraine, South Sudan and Ivory Coast.