Russian military cargo plane crashes with 15 people on board

A Russian military transport plane carrying 15 people crashed on Tuesday during takeoff from an air base in western Russia, as confirmed by the Defense Ministry.

The Il-76 aircraft, with eight crew members and seven passengers on board, went down in the Ivanovo region. There has been no official word on potential survivors.

Ivanovo Governor Stanislav Voskresensky expressed condolences to the families of the victims and assured that there was no damage to the ground.

The Defense Ministry attributed the crash to an engine fire during takeoff and dispatched an investigative team to Ivanovo to ascertain the cause.

Video footage circulated by Russian media captured the aircraft descending with at least one engine engulfed in flames.

The Il-76, a four-engine heavy-lift transport plane in service since the 1970s, has been utilized by both the Soviet and Russian air forces.

The crash occurred amid reports from the Defense Ministry of numerous Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia. Previous incidents have seen Ukrainian drones target military air bases within Russian territory.

As military flights by Russia surged during the conflict in Ukraine, so too have the number of crashes, a trend noted by military experts.