Image copyright AFP/Getty Images Image caption The An-26 - like this one in an archive photo - is a twin-engine turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft

A Russian military transport plane has crashed in Syria killing more than 30 people, the defence ministry says.

The An-26 plane crashed during landing at Hmeimim airbase, near the coastal city of Latakia, the ministry is quoted as saying by Russian media.

It says all 39 military personnel on board died, not 32 as earlier reported.

The plane was not fired upon, the ministry says, and preliminary data suggests a technical malfunction could have caused the crash.

An investigation is now under way. Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed condolences to the victims' relatives.

Meanwhile, medics in the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta area of Syria say they have been treating people with breathing problems after a suspected chlorine attack.

The reports follow government air strikes and shelling just hours after the last UN aid envoy left the enclave following a supposed five-hour truce.

In a separate development, UN war crimes investigators say air strikes in Syria by both Russia and the US-led coalition killed large numbers of civilians last year.

What is known about Tuesday's plane crash?

The Russian defence ministry says the An-26 crashed at about 15:00 Moscow Time (12:00 GMT).

It says the plane went down about 500m (1640ft) from the runway.

A special commission is to be set up to investigate the crash.

On 7 January, Russian forces said they had foiled a drone attack on Hmeimim.

This was just a week after Russian warplanes were damaged at the airbase in a rebel mortar attack.

Hmeimim is Russia's main base for air strikes on rebel groups in Syria - strikes that have enabled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces to recover much lost ground.

What are Russia's air force losses in Syria?

Russia launched its military operation in September 2015, saying it was acting upon a request by President Assad.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Images said to show the wreckage of Russia's Sukhoi-25 plane shot down over Idlib on 3 February

Here are the confirmed air force losses:

What about the suspected chlorine attack in Eastern Ghouta?

The attack targeted the town of Hammoria and led to the evacuation of dozens of civilians, according to the Syrian Civil Defence, whose volunteer rescue workers are widely known as the White Helmets.

Local medics said they were treating a number of people who had breathing problems.

Syria denied allegations it had carried out the attack, dismissing them as an act of desperation by Western powers.

Meanwhile, Russia - a key ally of the Syrian government - offered rebels safe passage out of the area.

What did UN war crimes investigators say?

They said they found that an attack by the US-coalition on a school near the city of Raqqa last March killed 150 local residents - many times more than Washington had admitted to.

The investigators also said Russian air strikes on a market in Atareb, west of Aleppo, killed at least 84 people last November.

Their report talked too of chemical weapons attacks by Syrian government forces, and war crimes allegedly committed by their rebel opponents.</s>MOSCOW — A Russian military transport plane carrying 33 passengers and six crew members crashed on landing at an air base in Syria on Tuesday, killing all on board, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Initial reports ruled out a terrorist attack against the aircraft, an Antonov An-26 transport plane, with technical failure being the likely cause, the Interfax news agency reported. All those on board were Russian military personnel, the ministry said.

“According to a report from the scene, the airplane was not fired upon,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding that an investigation into the crash had begun. The plane hit the ground more than 1,600 feet short of the runway at the Russian-operated Khmeimim Air Base, the statement said.

Russia has stepped up security at the air base and at a naval facility at Tartus on the Mediterranean coast after both came under a drone attack in early January. The drones were shot down before they caused any damage and there were no casualties, according to a statement on the military’s Facebook page.

The crash on Tuesday is the latest in a string of episodes involving markedly higher casualties among Russians in Syria after more than two years of relatively few. From the time Russia first intervened militarily in Syria in September 2015 until early this year, the public casualty figure was about 46 killed, although some analysts had suspected that it was higher.</s>A Russian military cargo plane has crashed as it was descending to land at an air base in Syria, killing all 39 people onboard, the Russian Defence Ministry said.

The Russian military said an An-26, with 33 passengers and six crew members onboard, crashed just 500 metres from the runway.

The military blamed the crash on a technical error and insisted that the plane was not shot down.

All of the people on board were Russian servicemen, the ministry said.

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 frontlines of the conflict, but came under shelling in December.

The Russian military insisted the cargo plane did not come under fire, while saying it would conduct a full investigation.

President Vladimir Putin offered his condolences to the families of those killed in the crash after receiving a briefing by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, the Kremlin said in a statement.

The Interfax news agency quoted a spokeswoman for Russia's Investigative Committee, which handles high-profile cases, as saying Russian investigators have been dispatched to Syria to look into the crash.

It was the second Russian military plane to crash in Syria this year, after a Su-25 ground attack jet was struck by a portable air defence missile over the northern Idlib province last month.

The Antonov An-26 is a twin-engine transport plane designed in the late 1960s in the Soviet Union.

Large numbers have remained in service in Russia and many other countries around the world.

An An-26 belonging to a military flight school crash-landed and caught fire south-east of Moscow in May, killing one crew member.

The RIA Novosti news agency quoted Colonel General Nikolai Antoshkin, former deputy commander of the Russian Air Force, as calling the An-26 a "reliable machine", even though it has been out of production since 1986.</s>MOSCOW—A Russian transport plane crashed while landing at the country’s air base in Syria on Tuesday, killing all 32 people on board, Russia’s defense ministry said, in another setback for the Kremlin’s military intervention.

The Antonov An-26 aircraft was likely not a victim of fire from hostile groups that have launched attacks on the base before, according to the ministry.</s>Russian Defence Ministry said a transport plane crashed in Syria on Tuesday, killing all 32 people on board. (Representational image)

Moscow: A Russian transport plane crashed in Syria on Tuesday, killing all 32 people on board, Russian news agencies cited the Russian Defence Ministry as saying.

The ministry was cited as saying that the plane crashed at Russia’s Hmeymim air base in Latakia Province and that initial information suggested the crash may have been caused by a technical fault.

It was quoted as saying that 26 passengers and six crew members were on board.</s>A Russian military transport plane crashed as it was on landing approach at an air base in western Syria on Tuesday, killing all 39 people aboard, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The twin-engine Antonov An-26 transport crashed at the Hemeimeem Air Base in Latakia province and initial reports indicated a likely mechanical failure, the ministry said.

The Moscow Times reports that there were 33 passengers and six crew aboard. The transport crashed just 1,600 feet short of the runway, according to Reuters.

Initially Russian news agencies had reported that a total of 32 were aboard the transport before later raising the death toll.

"All of them were members of the Russian Armed Forces," Interfax news agency quoted the Russian defense ministry as saying. "The crew and the passengers were killed."

As The Moscow Times notes, "Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is running for re-election later this month, ordered 'a significant part' of Moscow's military contingent there to start withdrawing in December, declaring their work largely done. But casualties continue to mount."

Last month, a Russian Su-25 ground attack jet was shot down by a portable anti-aircraft missile over northern Idlib province. The pilot reportedly ejected over an area controlled by militants.

The Soviet-era An-26 is a mainstay of Russian military operations but the aging aircraft has been out of production since the mid-1980s.</s>A military cargo plane has crashed as it was descending to land at a Russian air base in Syria, killing all 32 people onboard, Russia's Defence Ministry has said.

The Russian military said an An-26, with 33 passengers and six crew members onboard, crashed 1,600ft from the runway.

The military blamed the crash on a technical error.

Russia, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, leases 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.

The Russian military insisted the cargo plane did not come under fire, while saying it would conduct a full investigation.

President Vladimir Putin offered his condolences to the families of those killed in the crash after receiving a briefing from defence minister Sergei Shoigu, the Kremlin said in a statement.

The Interfax news agency quoted a spokeswoman for Russia's Investigative Committee, which handles high-profile cases, as saying Russian investigators have been dispatched to Syria to look into the crash.

It was the second Russian military plane to crash in Syria this year, after a Su-25 ground attack jet was struck by a portable air defence missile over Idlib province last month.

The Antonov An-26 is a twin-engined transport plane designed in the late 1960s in the Soviet Union. Large numbers have remained in service in Russia and other countries around the world.

An An-26 belonging to a military flight school crash-landed and caught fire south east of Moscow in May last year, killing one crew member.</s>A Russian transport plane crashed in Syria on Tuesday, killing all 32 people on board, Russian news agencies cited the Russian defence ministry as saying.

The ministry was cited as saying that the plane crashed at Russia’s Hmeymim air base in Latakia Governorate and that initial information suggested the crash may have been caused by a technical fault.

It was quoted as saying that 26 passengers and six crew members were on board. – Reuters</s>A Russian cargo plane crashed in Syria on Tuesday, killing all 39 people onboard, Russia’s Defense Ministry said.

The An-26 plane crashed while attempting to land at Khmeimim Air Base, located near the Syrian coastal city of Latakia. The plane, carrying 23 passengers and six crew members, was 1,600 feet from the runway. Reports initially said there were 26 passengers on the plane. The people aboard the plane were Russian servicemen.

The military said preliminary reports indicated the deadly crash was caused by a technical error.

"The plane was not shot down," the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported, according to Russia's REN TV.

Russian President Vladimir Putin received a briefing about the deadly crash and offered his condolences to the victims’ families.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in a statement on the government's website said he was "deeply shaken" by the crash, which had caused "an irreparable loss."

Russia, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, leases a 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.

Tuesday’s crash was also the second military plane to crash in Syria this year. Su-25 ground attack jet was struck by a portable air defense missile over the northern Idlib province last month.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>MOSCOW — A Russian military cargo plane crashed as it was descending to land at an air base in Syria on Tuesday, 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 metres (1,600 feet) 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. The Russian military insisted the cargo plane did not come under fire, while saying it would conduct a full investigation.

The military did not immediately identify the victims.

President Vladimir Putin offered his condolences to the families of those killed in the crash, his spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, was quoted as saying by Russian news wires. Peskov said Putin had received a briefing by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.

It was the second Russian military plane to crash in Syria this year, after a Su-25 ground attack jet was struck by a portable air defence missile over the northern Idlib province last month.

The Antonov An-26 is a twin-engine transport plane designed in the late 1960s in the Soviet Union. Large numbers have remained in service in Russia and many other countries around the world.

An An-26 belonging to a military flight school crash-landed and caught fire southeast of Moscow in May, killing one crewmember.

The RIA Novosti news agency on Tuesday quoted Col. Gen. Nikolai Antoshkin, former deputy commander of the Russian Air Force, as calling the An-26 a “reliable machine” even though it has been out of production since 1986.
A Russian Antonov An-26 transport plane crashes during an attempted landing at Khmeimim Air Base in Latakia, Syria, killing all 39 people onboard.