Deaths after fighter jet crashes into Russian building in Yeysk | Russia-Ukraine war news

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At least four killed after a large blaze engulfed the building and witnesses said multiple floors were on fire.

A supersonic military aircraft crashed into a residential building in the southern Russian city of Yeysk, engulfing the structure in flames and collapsing several upper floors.

Footage on social media showed a large fireball erupting from the multistory building on Monday. Initial reports said four people were killed, 19 injured – four in serious condition – and six missing in the port city on the Sea of ​​Azov.

The aircraft was identified as a Sukhoi Su-34 fighter jet. The crew managed to eject before the plane crashed, according to the defense ministry.

A large blaze engulfed the building, stoked by jet fuel, and witnesses were quoted by Russia’s Tass news agency as saying it was on fire from the first to the ninth floors. Firefighters battled the blaze as loud bangs from the apparent detonation of the warplane’s weapons were heard.

“While climbing to perform a training flight from the military airfield of the southern military district, a Su-34 aircraft crashed,” the ministry statement said. “The cause of the crash of the aircraft was a fire in one of the engines during takeoff.”

The Interfax news agency quoted emergency services as saying five floors of the apartment building were on fire, the upper floors had collapsed, and about 45 apartments were damaged.

The blaze spread over 2,000sq m (21,500sq feet), it said. Yeysk, a city of about 90,000 people, is home to a large Russian air base.

About 600 people usually live in the building, the local Krasnodar administration said on Telegram. “The governor ordered the whereabouts of each resident to be established,” it said.

Officials say at least 4 people were killed after a Russian fighter plane crashed into a residential building in the city of Yeysk, near Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine.

Read more: https://t.co/FHwETJ9iub pic.twitter.com/9o6zUjlCc7

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) October 17, 2022

‘Establishing the circumstances’

The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin was immediately informed about the crash, and he ordered ministers of health and emergency services along with the local governor to head to the site.

Hours after the crash, Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said emergency services managed to contain the fire. “Information about the dead and injured is being clarified. Ambulance crews are on the scene,” he said.

Russia’s Investigative Committee, which deals with serious crimes, later announced it launched a criminal probe into the crash. “Military investigators are establishing the circumstances and causes of the incident,” it said.

Yeysk is located on the Tangarog Gulf in the Sea of ​​Azov, which separates southern Ukraine and southern Russia.

Yeysk lies directly across the sea from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which is under Russian control after Moscow launched its invasion in February.

The Su-34 is a supersonic twin-engine bomber equipped with sophisticated sensors and weapons that has been a key component of the Russian air force. The aircraft has seen wide use during the war in Syria and the fighting in Ukraine.

Monday’s incident marked the 10th reported non-combat crash of a Russian warplane since Moscow sent its troops into Ukraine.

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