An army aircraft crashed on Monday into a residential building in the southern port town of Yeysk in Russia’s Krasnodar region, as per reported by local officials.
The Defense Ministry of Russia said a Su-34 fighter crashed after taking off from a local airfield for a training flight, the state-run RIA Novosti, reported.
Around thirteen people were killed and 19 other injured, as per stated by Health Ministry officials cited Tuesday by local news agencies.
Footage shared on social media showed a multi-story apartment building engulfed in flames as additional explosions took place. The Defense Ministry added that the pilots had both ejected safely, and one video circulating on social media has shows what appeared to be pilot, lying on the ground near the burning building, alive but apparently injured.
The Investigative Committee of Russia, which looks into serious crimes, added that it had initiated a criminal investigation into the crash.
Since the beginning of the Ukraine offensive, the airspace around the south of Russia has been closed.