Russian Military Plane Crashes, 11 Dead

Russian authorities say a heavy-lift military cargo plane has crashed on takeoff in eastern Siberia, killing all 11 people on board.

Investigators say the huge four-engine Ilyushin IL-76 had just taken off Sunday from Mirny, in the Yakutia region, when it rolled at an altitude of about 20 meters, crashed, and burst into flames.

The plane, bound for the Siberian city of Irkutsk, went down in an open field about two kilometers from the runway. There were no reports of injuries on the ground. Russia's Itar-Tass news agency said the weather was clear at the time of take-off and that flight recorders have been recovered.

The IL-76 plane, which belonged to Russia's Interior Ministry, is capable of carrying 40 metric tons of cargo, such as armored vehicles.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.