A Russian military cargo plane crashed in the city of Ryazan southeast of Moscow on Friday, killing four people and injuring five others, authorities said.

The aircraft was on a training flight without cargo when the crew decided to land due to an engine malfunction, and it was partially destroyed when it hit the ground, the defence ministry said in a statement quoted by local news agencies.

The defence ministry said the injured crew members were taken to hospital.

The aircraft was a Il-76 military transport plane, which were first manufactured in the Soviet Union in the late 1960s.

The plane crashed into a field close to residential buildings near a highway, causing a fire that has since been extinguished, TASS reported.

A witness quoted by the Ria Novosti agency said the crash took place at around 4:00 am local time.

No details were given about where the plane was headed when it crashed in Ryazan, around 200 kilometres (125 miles) southeast of the Russian capital.