MOSCOW, December 26 (RIA Novosti) – An Antonov An-12 transport plane crashed on the outskirts of the eastern Siberian city of Irkutsk on Thursday afternoon, killing everyone on board, Russian officials said.
The local branch of the Emergency Situations Ministry said in a statement that there were nine people on board – six crew members and three individuals accompanying the cargo. Five bodies have been pulled from the wreckage so far.
A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry said the roofs of two military warehouses were damaged by the plane as it crashed, but there were no additional casualties.
The plane was owned by the Irkutsk Aviation Plant and reportedly transporting industrial cargo from Novosibirsk.
Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for the Russian Investigative Committee, said a criminal case was opened into possible violations of transport safety rules.
A local law enforcement source said that judging by initial reports, the incident was likely caused by pilot error or a technical malfunction.
Updates with more info; recasts throughout
