Moscow: All passengers aboard the Russian aircraft that crashed in Sakha Republic of the country on Monday, have survived, Defence Ministry said.
At least sixteen persons aboard an Il-18 plane were critically injured, but all passengers and crew have survived. Helicopters have evacuated all of them to health centres in Tiksi, the ministry said.
The aircraft was believed to be carrying 39 passengers and crew. Sources earlier said four or five people were likely to have survived.
Among the 39 people on board, 32 were passengers and seven were crew members. The source said a crew error as well as adverse weather conditions could have caused the crash.
The crash site was located and three Mi-8 helicopters of the Russian Emergencies Ministry were sent to it. The plane reportedly belonged to the Russian Aerospace Forces and carried officers.
The ministry sent a special commission to investigate the accident.
