Updated with Defense Ministry’s statement.
A Russian military transport plane caught fire and crashed in the Ivanovo region northeast of Moscow, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday.
Footage circulating on social media showed the IL-76 aircraft descending toward the ground with one of its engines on fire. Other footage showed a column of black smoke rising from the crash site.
“At about 1:00 p.m. Moscow time, an IL-76 military transport aircraft crashed during takeoff for a scheduled flight in the Ivanovo region,” the Defense Ministry was quoted as saying by the state-run TASS news agency.
Eight crew members and seven passengers were said to have been on board the aircraft.
“According to reports from the scene, the cause of the disaster was a fire in one of the engines during takeoff of the aircraft,” the Defense Ministry added.
It did not say if there were any casualties.
TASS, citing an anonymous emergency service official, reported that all 15 people on board the plane were believed to have died.
The crash comes weeks after an IL-76 plane that Moscow claimed had been 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.
