Russian military transport plane crashes in Crimea, killing 29, Defense Ministry says | CNN

A Russian An-26 military transportplane ⁠crashed into ⁠a cliff in Crimea, killing 29 people onboard, due to a possible technical malfunction, Russia’s ⁠DefenseMinistry said ​early Wednesday, according to news ⁠agencies. TASS news agency, quoting the ministry, said communication with the aircraft was lost at about 6 p.m. local time on Tuesday on a planned flight over Crimea. The peninsula, covered in ​sweeping mountains leading down to the coast of the Black Sea, was annexed ​by Russia from Ukraine in 2014. “The Defense Ministry reported that a ⁠search team found the site of the catastrophe,” TASS reported. “According to a report from ​the site, six crew members and 23 passengers on board were killed.” The ministry report ​did not say how many people were on board, but it made no mention of any survivors on the An-26, a light tactical military transport that has for decades been a mainstay that ​can carry cargo and up to 40 passengers over short and medium distances. “There was ​no impact on the aircraft,” TASS quoted the ministry as saying, implying that objects like missiles, drones ‌and ⁠birds were not involved. “The preliminary cause o