In Mali, a military plane owned by the Russian private military company Wagner skidded off the runway at Gao Airport on Saturday, resulting in 140 fatalities. The Ilyushin IL-76 military transport plane caught fire during landing. Video footage showed the aircraft unable to stop on the runway, ultimately going off an embankment after crossing the ring road. Among the victims was a Russian pilot. An investigation is underway, with initial suspicions pointing to a possible malfunction in the aircraft’s fuel tank.
Gao Airport serves Malian soldiers, Wagner mercenaries, and UN stabilization mission military personnel. The plane had been in the Air Force’s possession for about a week before the accident.