Russia: Military plane crashes after takeoff - 15 people on board

The Russian authorities have been on the alert after an Il-76 jet crashed shortly after takeoff with 15 people reportedly on board.

Videos posted on Platform X show the plane on fire with the pilot trying to get away from a residential area.

https://twitter.com/VadymVietrov/status/1767502498133139648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1767502498133139648%7Ctwgr%5E12da77fcb32fec61d24bc774901c83071ce4dbee%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.protothema.gr%2Fworld%2Farticle%2F1476366%2Frosia-sunetrivi-aeroplano-il-76-meta-tin-apogeiosi-tou-epevainan-12-atoma%2F

So far, the fate of the 15 passengers of the aircraft, which was reportedly performing a training flight, remains unknown.

According to Russia's Defense Ministry, there were "eight crew members and seven passengers" on board.

“On March 12 at approximately 13:00 Moscow time an Il-76 military transport plane crashed in the Ivanovo region after taking off for a scheduled flight. There were eight crew members and seven passengers on board. According to the first report from the crash site, the cause of the crash was a fire that caught in one of the engines at the time of take-off," the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

The plane had taken off from Ivanovo airport, near Moscow.

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The crash comes just weeks after an IL-76 jet, which Moscow claimed was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, crashed in a Russian region bordering Ukraine. The Ivanovo region is located more than 700 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

Source: protothema.gr