A group of armed men in military uniforms have seized the main regional airport in Simferopol, Crimea, Interfax news agency said.

The agency quoted eyewitnesses as saying that about 50 armed men, dressed in uniforms that bore no designated marks, arrived at the airport in three trucks and took it over.

The agency said separately a group of people had headed towards the airport, some of them carrying the ensign of the Russian navy. Part of Russia's Black Sea fleet is based in Sevastopol in Crimea.

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