Moscow: Twenty-nine people, including six crew members and 23 passengers, were killed after a Russian military transport aircraft of the An-26 type crashed over the Crimean Peninsula due to a technical malfunction, according to preliminary reports.

The Russian Ministry of Defence confirmed that the wreckage of the aircraft was found after contact was lost during a scheduled flight on 31st March at around 18:00 Moscow time, noting that a specialised committee affiliated with the ministry has begun its work at the crash site to investigate the circumstances of the incident.