Cargo Plane Crash in Russia Kills 11

A cargo plane carrying 16 tons of food crashed in eastern Russia on Tuesday. All nine crew members and two passengers are believed to have died, officials said.

The pilots reported a fuel leak and a fire in one of the plane’s four engines shortly after takeoff and requested to make an emergency landing at the Magadan airport. The Antonov An-12, which was operated by a Khabarovsk-based Avis-Amur company, disappeared from radar a short time later and crashed in one of Russia’s most remote regions.

Russia’s Investigative Committee has launched a criminal probe into possible violations of flight regulations, and rescue workers have been dispatched to the crash site.

[AFP]