YEYSK, Russia, Oct 17 (Reuters) – A Russian fighter plane crashed into a residential building in the southern Russian city of Yeysk on Monday, engulfing apartments in a huge fireball, and officials said at least three people were killed.
Yeysk is separated from occupied Russian territory in southern Ukraine by a narrow stretch of the Sea of Azov.
The incident comes nearly eight months after Russia sent its troops into Ukraine.
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Video published by the military news channel Zvezda appeared to show explosions aboard the Sukhoi Su-34 supersonic medium-range fighter-bomber plane as it plunged towards the apartments. Russian agencies said the pilots had ejected.
Anna Minkova, deputy governor of the local Krasnodar region, wrote on Telegram that three people had died and another 10 had been taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.
Separately, Russia’s RIA news agency quoted emergency officials as saying at least 21 people were injured.
Footage from the site showed large parts of the building on fire after the crash. Local authorities later said the blaze had been put out.
State-owned RIA said the crash took place during a training flight from a military airfield. It quoted the defence ministry as saying the pilots had reported that an engine had caught fire on takeoff, and the plane’s fuel had then ignited when it struck the building.
Russia’s state Investigative Committee, which deals with serious crimes, said it had opened a criminal case and sent investigators to the scene.
The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin had been informed, and had ordered all necessary help to be provided to victims. He ordered the health and emergencies ministers to fly to the region, it said.
Regional governor Veniamin Kondratyev said the fire had broken out in a nine-storey building.
“The fire engulfed several floors at once. Seventeen apartments were preliminarily damaged,” he said on Telegram.
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Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge, Sandra Maler and David Ljunggren
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