Plane crash Russian jet falls short of runway killing 39

A Russian military cargo plane crashed at an airbase in Syria yesterday, killing all 39 people on board, Russia’s Defence Ministry said.

The An-26 crashed 500m short of the runway, with the authorities blaming technical error. Russia, an ally of Bashar al-assad, leases the Hemeimeem military base in Syria, near the Mediterranean coast. It is the second Russian military plane to crash in Syria this year.