The Russian Defence Ministry said today that one of its planes had crashed in northeast Siberia adding that 23 people had been airlifted to hospital, 16 of whom were in serious condition.<br/><br/>The Defence Ministry Ilyushin Il-18 aircraft carrying 32 passengers and seven crew made an emergency landing 30 kilometres from an airfield near the town of Tiksi in the Sakha Republic at 4:45 a.m. local time. It said a team of military investigators had been flown to the incident area.

The Russian Defence Ministry said today that one of its planes had crashed in northeast Siberia adding that 23 people had been airlifted to hospital, 16 of whom were in serious condition. The Defence Ministry Ilyushin Il-18 aircraft made an emergency landing 30 kilometres from an airfield near the town of Tiksi in the Sakha Republic at 4:45 a.m. local time. It said a team of military investigators had been flown to the incident area.