MOSCOW -- Six crew members and 23 passengers were killed when a Russian An-26 military transport plane crashed in Crimea, the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed early Wednesday.

The aircraft collided with a cliff, a source at the scene told TASS news agency.

The Russian defense ministry said late Tuesday that the An-26 had lost contact during a scheduled flight over the Crimean Peninsula.

According to preliminary information, the crash was caused by a technical malfunction, and no hostile fire targeted the aircraft.