Moscow:

A Russian regional airliner carrying three crew members crashed in a forested area near Moscow on Friday, killing all on board, Russian news agencies reported.

The plane, a Russian-designed Superjet 100, was carrying out a test flight after undergoing scheduled repairs and crashed a little over an hour after taking off, the TASS news agency said.

“According to preliminary information, three pilots were killed. All those on board,” emergency services were quoted as saying by the agency.

The plane was headed to Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, according to state media.

It crashed in a forested area of the Kolomensky District, a municipality about 60 kilometres (37 miles) southeast of the capital, the RIA news agency reported.

A plume of grey smoke could be seen rising from the crash site in photos and videos shared on social media.

Russian investigators have opened a criminal probe into the crash, according to the RIA news agency.

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