32 killed in Russian plane crash

A Russian military cargo plane crashed as it was descending to land at an air base in Syria yesterday, killing all 32 people onboard, the Russian Defence Ministry said.

The Russian military said an An -26, with 26 passengers and six crew members onboard, crashed just 500 meters from the runway. The military blamed the crash on a technical error.

Russia, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, leases the Hemeimeem military base in Syria, near the Mediterranean coast.

The base is far from the front lines of the conflict, but came under shelling in December.