Russian plane crashes near Moscow, killing all 71 aboard

A Russian passenger jet crashed several minutes after takeoff from Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport on Sunday, killing all 71 people on board, Russia’s Air Transport Agency confirmed.

“Fragments of the An-148 and several bodies have been found near the village of Stepanovskoye,” the agency said in a statement released by the state-run TASS news agency.

A cockpit recorder and parts of the fuselage were retrieved from the crash site, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry reported.

Authorities said it was too early to determine the cause of the crash, including whether the tragedy was terrorrelated.

Preliminary reports indicated the pilots did not report any technical problems or activate a mayday call, Russia’s Investigative Committee said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin created a special commission to investigate the crash, and Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said a criminal investigation had been launched.

Saratov Airlines Flight 703, with 65 passengers and a crew of six, was bound for Orsk when it departed Moscow at 2:21 p.m. local time, the ministry said.

Radio contact was lost a few minutes after takeoff, and the plane disappeared from air traffic control radars.

Fire and rescue divisions, ambulance brigades and other emergency services were immediately dispatched to the crash site, authorities said.

Photos from the scene showed emergency vehicles parked in deep snow.