The plane was unable to gain height before crashing[EPA]

Officials said all the crew members on board died in the crash on Sunday.

No one on the ground was reported hurt.

Vasily Panchenkov, a spokesman for the Interior Troops, which were flying the aircraft, said the aircraft had banked to the right and had been unable to gain altitude.

The four-engine plane had just taken off from the city of Mirny in the Sakha Republic

An interior ministry official said: "The plane flew no more thantwo kilometres at an altitude of 20 to 30 metres before crashing near an old mine."

The plane, which was carrying no cargo but had full fuel tanks, exploded as it hit the mine.

An inquiry was launched to find the cause of the crash.

It is the second crash in less than a month involving an Il-76, the mainstay of the Soviet and Russian air force since the 1970s.

Russia has one of the world's worst air safety records, with elderly Soviet-era aircraft, dated airport facilities, poor maintenance and lax standards contributing to a high number of crashes.

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