Russian military plane crashes near Ukraine: Huge fireball - reports of dead and injured

Created: 2022-10-18 05:12

By: Andreas Schmid

Flames and smoke billow from a building after a fighter jet crashed into a residential area.

According to the Russian military, one of its fighter jets crashed after an engine failure in the port of Yeysk on the Sea of ​​Azov.

© Ostorozhno Novosty/AP/dpa

A house in southern Russia caught fire.

A Russian military pilot had previously crashed into the block.

The Kremlin confirmed the crash, in which there were fatalities.

Update from October 17, 7:55 p.m .:

At least two people died after a Russian military plane crashed over a residential area in the south-west of the country.

Another 15 people were hospitalized with injuries, Russian news agencies reported, citing the local Emergencies Ministry in Yeysk near Ukraine.

First report from October 17th:

Yejsk – A Russian military plane crashed in southern Russia near Ukraine.

This was reported by several news agencies and the Russian Ministry of Defense on Thursday evening.

Video footage of the alleged crash in the city of Yeysk quickly circulated on social media.

You can see a large explosion including a fireball and a fire in a block of flats.

There are also unconfirmed rumors that the plane was carrying ammunition.

The governor of Russia's Krasnodar region, Benjamin Kontradtiev, stated that "all the fire and rescue units of the region are busy putting out the fire."

Russian military plane crashes near Ukraine: Apparently exercise

Russia confirmed the crash.

According to the Tass news agency, the fire spread over an area of ​​2,000 square meters.

Russian agencies cited the Defense Ministry.

Accordingly, the Sukhoi-34 machine fell into the yard of a residential complex and the aircraft's fuel caught fire.

The two men from the cockpit of the fighter bomber were saved with parachutes.

It was a training flight.

Reports of deaths and injuries are still being examined.

Yeysk is located in the north of the Russian Krasnodar region on the Azov Sea.

Across the bay lies the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which was devastated by bombing and a long siege in the early months of the Russian offensive.