UPDATE - Russian military aircraft crashes in Syria, 39 dead

UPDATES DEATH TOLL TO 39, CRIMINAL CASE LAUNCHED

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - A Russian An-26 military transport aircraft has crashed in Syria while landing at the Hmeimim airport, killing all 39 people on board, according to the Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday.

Earlier, the ministry had put the death toll at 32, but later revised it.

A total of 33 passengers and six crew members were aboard, all of them servicemen of Russian Armed Forces, the ministry said in a written statement. None of them survived, it added.

A Russian investigative committee opened a criminal case after the crash in Syria.

Earlier, the ministry said the plane collided with the ground just 500 meters from the runway.

Technical malfunction is being considered as a reason for the crash, it added.

A special commission of the Defense Ministry was examining all possibilities into the crash.