Nine killed in Russian plane crash

A Russian military plane crashed in the country’s far east late today, killing all nine people aboard, news agencies reported.

An emergency ministry official said the Tu-142-M3 anti-submarine turboprop crashed in the Tatarsky Strait about 12 miles off the Pacific coast, ITAR Tass reported.

The plane disappeared off radar screens shortly after 11am Irish time when it was finishing a training flight, the Interfax news agency quoted a Defence Ministry official as saying.

The official said the bodies of the crew and wreckage from the plane were removed from the water by emergency boats.

Tu-142-M3 is a maritime reconnaissance aircraft that was widely used by the Soviet navy.