Aircraft crashes into residential building in Russian city near Crimea – Military aircraft crashes into residential building in Russian city near Crimea: Pilots eject shortly after take-off on training flight when Su-34’s engine catches fire
- The plane was on a training flight after taking off from airfield near Yeysk
- The engine caught fire while in flight and the pilots ejected just before crash
- The aircraft smashed into a nine-floor residential building, causing huge fireball
- Number of casualties has not yet been specified, though early reports suggest there are a number dead and several hospitalised in critical condition
A Kremlin military plane has crashed into a high-rise residential building in Russia causing a huge fireball explosion.
The Su-34 bomber was on a training flight when it malfunctioned and ploughed into the block of flats in Yeysk, a resort city in the Krasnodar region near Crimea.
The engine caught fire shortly after take-off and both crewmembers ejected moments before the aircraft nosedived directly into the civilian building.
Aircraft crashes into residential building in Russian city near Crimea
Four floors of the building are still ablaze after tons of fuel exploded on impact, with flames spanning 2,000sq metres still ripping through the apartment block.
Unconfirmed photos circulating on social media show the dramatic fireball ripping through the building as a fully-deployed parachute floats to the ground nearby.
It was not immediately clear how many casualties there were, but early reports suggest one person was killed and three people, including a child, were hospitalised in critical condition.
Unconfirmed photos circulating on social media show the dramatic fireball ripping through the building as a fully-deployed parachute floats to the ground nearby (circled)
The aircraft ploughed into the block of flats in Yeysk, a resort city on the Sea of Azov near Crimea
The Su-34 bomber was on a training flight when it malfunctioned and ploughed into the block of flats in Yeysk, a resort city on the Sea of Azov near Crimea
The Russian ministry of defence said: ‘On October 17, 2022, while climbing to perform a training flight from the military airfield of the Southern Military District, a Su-34 aircraft crashed. The aircraft crashed within the city of Yeysk.
‘According to the report of the ejected pilots, the cause of the plane crash was the ignition of one of the engines during takeoff.
‘At the site of the crash of the Su-34 in the courtyard of one of the residential areas, the fuel of the aircraft ignited.’
Chief war correspondent for the pro-Kremlin Komsomolskaya Pravda Aleksandr Kots specified the aircraft was an Su-34 from Russia’s 277th Bombing Aviation Regiment.
‘So far, the main version is that it was birds getting into the engines at takeoff,’ Kots claimed.
Firefighters helicopters and ambulances rushed to the scene of the nine-floor apartment block
Regional Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev said that all regional emergency services were working to put out the fire.
Local authorities said that the massive blaze engulfed several floors of an apartment building and at least 15 apartments were affected.
The first to fifth floors of the nine storey block of flats were engulfed in fire, eyewitnesses said, while one report from the scene said that emergency services were struggling to extinguish the blaze which had spread throughout the apartment block.
Former Russian presidential candidate Ksenia Sobchak said: ‘It’s scary to imagine how many dead there will be.’
Regional governor Veniamin Kondratyev, 52, confirmed via his Telegram channel that he was at the scene of the incident, but had no immediate information about casualties.
The engine caught fire shortly after take-off and both crewmembers ejected moments before the smash and landed safely
Firefighters helicopters and ambulances rushed to the scene of the nine-floor apartment block
