MOSCOW: A Russian Antonov-26 military plane crashed while flying over the Crimean peninsula, killing 29 people, the TASS state news agency reported on Wednesday, quoting Russia’s defence ministry.

The Russian investigative committee, which handles major crimes, also confirmed the crash, without stating the death toll. “On 31 March 2026, an An-26 aircraft crashed whilst in flight near the village of Kuibyshevo in the Bakhchysaray district of the Republic of Crimea.

There were 7 crew members and 23 passengers on board,” the committee said. It has also opened a probe into a flight safety violation.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and has since administered it as Russian. According to the TASS report, the defence ministry said that “on March 31 at around 18:00 Moscow time, contact was lost with the An-26 military transport aircraft whilst it was on a scheduled flight over the Crimean Peninsula.” “The search and rescue team has located the crash site of the An-26 aircraft. According to reports from the scene, the six crew members and 23 passengers on board were killed,” TASS cited the ministry.

No signs of external impact were found on the aircraft’s wreckage, according to the TASS report, which indicated at this stage that technical failure likely caused the crash.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2026