Vladivostok, Nov 1 (RIA Novosti) A Russian interior ministry plane with 11 crewmembers on board crashed several minutes after taking off in Yakutia, authorities said Sunday.

“All 11 people died in the air crash,” a spokesman for the ministry’s regional centre said.

The spokesman said the plane, an Il-76 Candid strategic airlifter, bound for the city of Irkutsk, fell and caught fire about three kilometres from Mirny airport.

Seven crew as well as four members from a replacement crew were on board.