Russian military plane crashes close to Moscow

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A military transport plane crashed Friday, near the Russian city of Ryazan, leaving several crew members wounded or missing.

According to the videos circulating on social media, the jet appears to have been an Ilyushin Il-76 and had fallen about 200 kilometers southeast of Moscow. The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed later that the jet was a military flight. The MoD said that “During a training flight, without cargo, an engine malfunction forced the crew to perform an emergency landing on rough ground,”  adding that the aircraft “partially” fell apart upon crashing onto the ground.

The number of victims is yet to be confirmed by the Russian army, but initial reports, according to Russian media citing emergency services, indicated that approximately nine or ten people were on board when the incident happened. Six survivors were rushed to the hospital leaving three or four unaccounted for as of yet.

Based on information shared by Baza and the 112 telegram channels, the plane engine caught fire before it attempted an emergency landing. However, no reports of infrastructure damage where the plane landed. It was an empty field near the highway and no injuries were reported for individuals outside the plane.

Multiple fire crews were at the scene and were able to contain the blaze while the ambulances attended to the survivors.

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