Death toll in military jet crash in southern Russia rises to 14
By Randy Pennell and Victoria Kim
Russian authorities have raised the death toll in the crash of a Russian military jet to 14, the state-run Tass news agency reported Tuesday.
The jet crashed into the courtyard of a large apartment building during a training mission on Monday, emergency officials said. Three children were among those killed.
The warplane, a Su-34, crashed in Yeysk, a port and resort town across the Sea of Azov from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, military officials told Russian news outlets. Russia’s Defense Ministry said the jet had been on a training flight when one of its engines caught fire and it plunged into a residential area.
The Russian Emergency Ministry wrote on the messaging app Telegram early Tuesday that rescue efforts were complete. An additional 19 people were injured, the ministry said.
The crash set off a fire that burned for three hours, according to the ministry.
Anna Minkova, the deputy governor of the Krasnodar region, wrote on Telegram that some of the victims had suffered severe burns.
The pilots ejected themselves, according to Russia’s state-run news agency, Tass.
The fire engulfed several floors of the building, which was nine stories tall, the regional governor, Veniamin Kondratiev, said on Telegram. He said initial reports indicated that 17 apartments had been damaged but added later that the extent of the damage was still being assessed.
The Russian Investigative Committee, the country’s main investigation agency, said on Telegram that forensic specialists had been sent to the scene to determine the cause of the crash.
In May, an Su-34 crashed through the roof of a two-story home in Chernihiv, in northern Ukraine. The residents, who were in the basement, survived. The pilot also survived after ejecting.