Russian Plane Crashes; at Least 75 Feared Dead

A Russian Defense Ministry plane carrying at least 75 people slammed into a mountain while trying to land in bad weather Wednesday evening in Georgia. Officials said everyone on board was feared dead.

A search and rescue team sent to the crash site about 15 miles east of the Black Sea port of Batumi found pieces of the plane and scorched earth, Georgia’s Emergency Situations Department said. Russia’s RTR television, which reported that bodies had been found, showed footage of flaming pieces of wreckage.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known.

The plane veered off course on approach in “difficult weather conditions,” said Alexander Silagadze, head of the civil aviation agency.

It was unclear exactly how many people were on board. Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry said the plane carried 82 people--11 crew members and 71 passengers--but Russian military officials said there were 11 crew members and 64 passengers, the Interfax news agency reported.

Russian military officials said the plane, an IL-18 transport, was at an altitude of 5,300 feet when communications were lost, Interfax reported. Military and civilian personnel were aboard, the agency said.

Interfax said passengers aboard the plane included servicemen and their wives and children returning from vacation. Russia and Georgia became independent when the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, but Russia still maintains troops in Georgia.