11 die in military plane crash in Romania

BUCHAREST - Eleven soldiers were killed in Romania Monday when a military plane crashed shortly after take-off, the country’s defence ministry said.

Another three people were taken to hospital with serious injuries. Officials corrected earlier media reports of 10 dead.

The Soviet-era Antonov AN-2 plane went down in flames with 13 people on board at the Tuzla airport near the city of Constanta on the Black Sea.

Nine passengers on board were Marine parachutists on a practice exercise along with three flight crew members and the leader of the air force school, the ministry said.

Investigations into the cause of the crash were ongoing, but Romanian media reported investigators speculated the crash may have been caused by pilot error.