Plane Crash Kills Russian Commander

A military transport plane with a top commander on board crashed shortly after takeoff Tuesday in northwest Russia, killing all 17 people on board, a Russian news agency reported.

The AN-12 aircraft went down after leaving the Andriapol air base outside the city of Pskov, the Interfax news agency said, citing an air force spokesman.

Seven crew members and 10 passengers died in the crash, the report said.

Among the dead was Col. Gen. Sergei Seleznyov, commander of the Leningrad military district, which includes the city of St. Petersburg. His wife and a colleague also died, Interfax said.

The plane was en route to Krasnodar from St. Petersburg and had stopped in Andriapol to pick up six additional passengers, the report said. It crashed eight minutes after takeoff.