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

Eleven people have been killed when a Russian military cargo plane crashed on takeoff in Siberia.

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 than two 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’s air force temporarily grounded all Il-76 aircraft after an engine broke off the wing of a plane on October 7 in preparation for takeoff. No one was hurt in that accident.

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.