The Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft crashed in the Belgorod region while on a scheduled flight. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, there were 65 captured servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 6 crew members and 3 companions on board.
"On January 24, 2024, around 11:00 Moscow time, an Il-76 aircraft crashed during a scheduled flight in the Belgorod region. On board were 65 captured servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine transported to the Belgorod region for exchange, 6 members of the aircraft crew and 3 accompanying persons", said officials of the military department.
As the Russian Ministry of Defense clarified, “a VKS commission flew to the plane crash site to determine the causes of the disaster".
A representative of the district emergency services told TASS that emergency medical teams went to the scene of the plane crash in the Korochansky district.
"Ambulances from several medical substations went to the scene of the plane crash in the Korochansky district. Firefighters and police were also mobilized to the scene".
BREAKING: Russian Military Ilyushin IL-76 transport plane crashed in the Belgorod region, Russia. There were 74 people on board, Russian media reports. Most of them were allegedly Ukrainian prisoners of war. pic.twitter.com/Scrkmjlly3
- JACDEC (@JacdecNew) January 24, 2024
Earlier, the governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, reported on his Telegram channel about the incident in the Korochansky district, without giving further details. According to him, "an investigation team and employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations are currently working on the scene"