(MENAFN) Major general, 26 officers, warrant officers and contract soldiers have died in the crash of An-26 in Syria, totally 39 people, TASS reports.
"27 officers, one of them was major general, warrant officers and contract soldiers have died. There have been no civilians aboard the plane," said the Defense Ministry of Russia.
"There were 39 people aboard: 33 passengers and 6 crew members. All of them were Russian service men. Technical failure could have been the cause of the crash," said the agency.
The accident happened at 3 pm on Tuesday when landing at Syria's Lathkia, according to the Russian ministry of defense. The plane hit the ground 500 meters short of the runway.
A technical malfunction was behind the crash, the ministry said, adding that the aircraft was not attacked.
An-26 is a military transport aircraft, capable of carrying up to 38 people excluding the crew, and some 5,500 kilograms in cargo.
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