Russian military plane crashes in Georgia

BATUMI, Georgia (CNN) -- A Russian military plane with 75 people on board has crashed in Georgia, the Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations says.

There are no details yet on casualties but the plane was said to be carrying 64 passengers and a crew of 11.

The four-engine propeller-driven Il-18 plane was on a flight to Batumi, where a Russian division is still based, when it hit a mountain at 1522 GMT (1722 Moscow time).

CNN Moscow correspondent Steve Harrigan said the plane had crashed into difficult terrain which may hamper rescue efforts.

AUDIO The crash took place in a mountainous region 43secs/463kb WAV sound

The flight was most likely carrying servicemen and their family, said Harrigan.

Although Russia and Georgia became independent countries after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia keeps troops stationed in Georgia.

Batumi is a Black Sea port town in the southwest of the former Russian republic, about 300 kilometres (180 miles) west of the capital Tbilisi.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Russian Ministry of Defence (in Russian)

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.