"All passengers and crew members are alive. Sixteen individuals sustained severe injuries. Search-and-rescue helicopters have evacuated 23 people to regional health centers of Tiksi [settlement]," the Russian Defense Ministry said, later adding that 32 people were hospitalized, Sputnik reported.

"According to preliminary information, the plane broke into three, it [the crash] was not followed by fire outbreak," a source in the law enforcement said earlier.

The source said a crew error as well as adverse weather conditions could have caused the crash.

The crash site was located and three Mi-8 helicopters of the Russian Emergencies Ministry were sent to it. The plane reportedly belonged to the Russian Aerospace Forces and carried officers.

"The plane made an emergency landing at 4:45, 30 kilometers (18 miles) away from Tiksi. The plane had been conducting a planned flight from the Kansk airbase," the Russian Defense Ministry added.

The ministry sent a special commission to investigate the accident. A medical team and a plane equipped with medical modules were dispatched to evacuate the victims of the crash. They will be treated in Moscow and Saint Petersburg.