In Eastern Siberia, near Irkutsk, a Belarusian-owned Soviet-built An-12 cargo plane has crashed and caught fire. The local authorities report that all passengers were killed. There were nine people on board.
According to sources in the Russian press, the aircraft crashed when it tried to land for the second time after failing to land the first time. The reason for the accident was not immediately determined.
According to Belarusian authorities, there were three Belarusians, two Russians and two Ukrainians on board. Russia reports that two passengers were also on board. Their identities are not known.
The Russian authorities have begun an investigation into the cause of the crash.
