32 die as Russian plane crashes in Syria

Moscow : A Russian transport plane crashed on landing at the Hmeimim airbase in Syria yesterday, killing all 32 on board, Russia’s defence ministry said.

There were 26 passengers and 6 crew, the ministry said in a statement carried by RIA Novosti agency. It did not specify whether all of them were in the military.

“The reason for the crash according to preliminary information could have been a technical fault,” the ministry said, adding that the plane had not come under fire according to a report from the ground.

The transporter was around 500 metres (yards) from the runway, the statement said.

A commission will investigate the causes of the crash.

The Russian military prosecutor’s office has initiated a check of possible violation of aviation safety, a spokesman said.

Antonov-26 planes are used by the military in Syria for internal flights transporting troops and supplies between provinces, Kommersant business daily reported.

The planes have also been used on press tours.

Moscow began conducting air strikes in Syria in September 2015, and its intervention has swung the nearly seven-year conflict firmly in favour of the forces of ally President Bashar al-Assad.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to Hmeimim in December where he ordered the start of a pullout of Russian troops, saying their task in the war-torn country had been largely completed.

Three battalions of military police and officers of the Russian Centre for Reconciliation would remain in Syria, as well as two Russian bases, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on a subsequent trip.