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Jeisk: Military plane crashes into block of flats in western Russia – two dead
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, an engine caught fire as the Su-34 aircraft took off. The plane exploded violently on impact in the residential area. Several floors of the nine-story building were engulfed in flames.
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In Russia, a military plane crashed into a block of flats and exploded.
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The Russian Defense Ministry has confirmed the incident.
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Accordingly, it is a Su-34 bomber – the two crew members were brought to safety.
A Russian Sukhoi Su-34 fighter jet crashed over a residential area in the Russian city of Yeisk on Monday evening. According to preliminary information from the regional civil defense, at least two people were killed. 15 people were injured and taken to the hospital.
Pictures and videos on social media show how the crash into a block of flats creates a huge fireball and the building is then on fire. Yeisk is located in the north of Krasnodar Territory on the Russian side of the Azov Sea.
The Ministry of Defense in Moscow confirmed the crash. One of the machine’s two engines caught fire during take-off, it said. The two men from the cockpit of the fighter bomber were saved with parachutes. The ministry spoke of a training flight. President Vladimir Putin was informed and sent the ministers of health and emergency services to the crash site.
Authorities said several floors of the affected nine-story building were engulfed in flames. At least 17 homes were affected. Governor Veniamin Kondratiev said the fire department was trying to put it out. Initially, there was no information regarding the dead or injured.
The port city of Yeisk is so close to Ukraine that airstrikes might be launched from there. Russia has repeatedly used Sukhoi Su-34 aircraft for attacks once morest Ukraine.
(DPA/AFP/bre)