Military aircraft carrying aviation students crashes in Ukraine

A Ukrainian military plane carrying aviation school students crashed and burst into flames while landing, killing 22 people, the country’s emergencies service said on Friday.

The An-26, carrying 28 people, crashed while landing at the airport in Chuhuiv, about 400km (250 miles) east of the capital Kyiv.

The crash happened approximately 2km (1.2 miles) from a military airport, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine said in a statement.

“The bodies of 22 people were found, two people were injured and the search for four people continues,” it said.

Reports said that the plane had a military crew and that most of those on board were students at the institution run by the defence ministry.

The two wounded were taken to hospital in a serious condition, and the search continued for the four others missing, Deputy Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko said.

The plane was on a training flight, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement, citing preliminary information.

There were no immediate indications of what caused the crash.