Eleven dead in Interior Ministry plane crash in Far East

Eleven people have been killed in an Interior Ministry plane crash in Yakutia in Russia's Far East. The bodies have already been recovered, according to a source in the Emergencies Ministry.

A spokesman for the Emergencies Ministry's regional center told RIA Novosti news agency that an Il-76 Candid strategic airlifter, bound for the city of Irkutsk, crashed and caught fire about three kilometers from Mirny airport.

The plane fell down in an unpopulated area and there were no victims among the local population.

Head of internal troops press service Vassily Panchenkov said that, following take–off, the plane lurched to the right and crashed into an approximately 20-meter high ore dump.

Airport officials saw the explosion and fire that followed. According to Panchenkov, during the search, rescuers managed to find the bodies of the crew, as well as flight recorders.

The data from the recorders is currently being studied by a special commission, he said.

The Interior Ministry has ruled out the idea that weather conditions were responsible for the crash.