The Russian military cargo plane Ilyushin Il-76 met a fatal fate on Tuesday shortly after takeoff.
The plane, with 15 people on board, succumbed to a fire that engulfed one of its engines and crashed to the ground in the Ivanovo region, northeast of Moscow.
Details emerging from the scene paint a grim picture, with no survivors reported by Russian online news services.
Unverified footage circulating on social media platforms captured the harrowing moment a plane with one engine on fire descended to the ground before crashing. A thick column of dark smoke billowed into the sky, signifying the tragic consequences of the crash.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense confirmed the incident, saying: “At about 1:00 p.m. Moscow time, an IL-76 military transport aircraft crashed while taking off for a scheduled flight in the Ivanovo region.” The ministry attributed the disaster to a fire that broke out in one of the engines during the plane’s climb.
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Among the 15 people on board the ill-fated flight were eight crew members and seven passengers. While the extent of casualties remains undisclosed by official sources, reports from the scene, as quoted by the TASS news agency, indicate that all individuals on board are feared dead.
This tragedy has struck a somber note in the wake of recent air crashes involving military aircraft. Just weeks ago, another IL-76 plane reportedly carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war crashed in a Russian region bordering Ukraine. Although the Ivanovo region is located more than 700 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, the echoes of the air disasters reverberate throughout the country.
As the investigation into the cause of the crash unfolds, many people’s hearts are heavy with grief for the lives lost and the grieving families. The aviation community in Russia and beyond stands in solidarity at this time of grief and reflects on the fragility of life and the dangers they face in the skies.
