Yeysk, Russia: 4 killed as SU-34 fighter jet crashes into apartments in western Russia, state media reports

CNN
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At least four people were killed and 25 others were injured after a Russian SU-34 fighter jet crashed into a residential building west of the city of Yeysk during a training flight on Monday, according to reports. Russian state media and authorities.

RIA Novosti quoted a source from the Russian Defense Ministry as saying that the incident was caused by one of the engines catching fire.

“According to reports of ejected pilots, the cause of the crash was one of the engines ignited during take-off. At the scene of the crash of the Su-34 in the courtyard of one of the residential areas, the plane’s fuel caught fire,” the ministry said in a statement to RIA.

The conditions of the ejected pilots are unclear.

Yeysk is a port town on the coast of the Sea of ​​Azov and is separated from the occupied territory of Russia to the south. Ukraine by a narrow strip of sea.

Photos and videos of the aftermath of the crash show billowing smoke and flames burning in a residential area. A building, believed to be home to hundreds of people, was later engulfed in flames, officials said.

Russian President Putin The Kremlin said in a statement that it had asked the authorities to provide all necessary assistance to the victims of the accident, adding that Putin had received reports from ministers and public officials. regional leader in terms of situation.

Officials have opened an investigation into the incident, according to the prosecutor’s office of the Krasnodar Krai region and the military prosecutor’s office of the Southern Military District.

Local officials said the fire broke out through more than a dozen apartments in the multi-storey building, which was later extinguished.

“The rest of the plane has been extinguished. The evacuation of residents of nearby houses was cancelled. The fire has been contained,” the head of the Krasnodar Krai region, Veniamin Kondratyev, said on his Telegram channel, citing a statement from the Emergencies Ministry.

About 100 people were evacuated from the building, local government security agencies told TASS.

The Russian Emergencies Ministry told RIA that the area where the plane crashed was 2,000 square meters wide.

According to the head of the affected area in Yeysk, Roman Bublik, the residents of the nine-story building that caught fire will be provided with all necessary assistance.

Earlier on Monday, a witness told Russian state media TASS about the mayhem that followed the crash: “The plane crashed in our city… Ambulances and rescuers Fire is coming from all over the city, helicopters are flying,” the witness said. ”