A Russian transport plane crashed on landing at an airbase in Syria Tuesday, the defence ministry said, killing all 39 people on board in one of the deadliest incidents since Moscow's intervention in the country's war.
The ministry said the 33 passengers and six crew members were all military personnel, in a statement carried by news agencies, revising up an earlier toll of 32.
"The reason for the crash according to preliminary information could have been a technical fault," the ministry said, adding that the plane had not come under fire according to a report from the ground.
The transporter was around 500 metres (yards) from the runway at the Hmeimim airbase in western Syria, according to the defence ministry.
President Vladimir Putin expressed "deep condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed in the crash and also to all of the military over the loss of their comrades".
Putin, who is on a trip in the Urals region, spoke to Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on the phone about the accident, according to the Kremlin.
A commission will investigate the causes of the crash, the defence ministry said.
The Investigative Committee, which covers major incidents, also announced a probe into possible safety breaches, saying the plane was carrying out a planned flight.
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