AN-12 Crash in Moscow

Moscow - An Antonov cargo aeroplane crashed just after taking off from Moscow's Domodedovo airport early Sunday, and according to preliminary information all eight people on board were killed, officials said.

The An-12 aeroplane "fell four kilometres from the runway and caught fire. There were eight people on board, including crew and passengers," an emergency ministry spokesperson Viktor Beltsov said in comments broadcast on the City FM radio station.

Smoke was still thick above the crash site and firefighters continued to fight flames in the aeroplane's shattered and unrecognisable remains, scattered among felled trees.

The aircraft came down between a nearby village, barely outside the Domodedovsky cemetery.

The aeroplane had been bound for the Siberian cities of Omsk and Bratsk, carrying nine tons of cargo.

The incident closely followed the crash of a helicopter in Russia's Urals region of Udmurtiya, where five people, including two children, were killed late on Saturday.

The helicopter hit power cables before falling into a local reservoir and sinking, officials said.