A squad of paratroopers are feared dead after a plane careered into the ground in Russia.
Sixteen people are thought to have lost their lives after the passenger aircraft crashed in Tatarstan in the east of the country, Russian news sources have reported.
The light engine L-410 aircraft had 23 people onboard, according to the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
As well as the 16 people thought to be dead, seven more were injured,the RIA news agency cited the emergency services as saying.
One of the seven injured is said to be in hospital in a critical condition.
The plane, which had been in operation for 34 years, was used for training paratroopers at the Menzelinsky flying club.
It crashed immediately after take-off, one witness said, having been flying low over trees.
One report from Komsomolskaya Pravda said the plane was “overloaded”.
“The aircraft was overloaded, its left engine failed,” said the report.
Eyewitness Oksana said: Oksana, eyewitness: “I started taking photos, after (my husband) said it was falling.
“We were around the petrol station at that moment. We turned around and drove there.
“And it was on fire (after crash), well, actually there was no fire but smoke.
“My husband pulled out a fire extinguisher, and then people started pulling out (victims).”
Images from the scene show the twisted metal of the wreck, which did not burst into flames after crashing.
The two pilots, both of whom are thought to have died in the crash, were named as Mikhail Belyaev, 50, and Alexander Zykov, 51.
In recent weeks, Russia has seen several plane crashes involving small aircraft.
An ageing Antonov An-26 transport plane crashed in the Russian far east last month killing six people.
All 28 people on board an Antonov An-26 twin-engine turboprop died in a crash in Kamchatka in July.
I just thank God that this incidence didn’t happen in Nigeria. Our Social Media space would have been agog with different types of Political analogies.
May the Souls of all the deceased rest in peace Sha.