A Russian military plane crashed Monday in a residential area of ??Yeysk, a city in south-west Russia near the border with Ukraine, news outlets citing the Defense Ministry reported, killing at least two people.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was informed of the fire and ordered “all necessary assistance to be provided to the victims of the military plane crash,” the Kremlin told the state news agency TASS.
Images circulating on social media showed a nine-story apartment building on fire.
At least two people died in the incident, news agencies reported, citing rescue services.
“On October 17, 2022, a Su-34 aircraft crashed while taking off for a training flight from the military airfield of the Southern Military District,” the ministry said.
Its statement said the military jet malfunctioned after “one of its engines caught fire on takeoff.”
“At the site of the Sukhoi Su-34 crash, in the courtyard of a residential area, the plane’s fuel caught fire,” the ministry said.
Pictures on social media showed a Soviet-era block of flats engulfed in flames.
The fire reached five out of nine floors of an apartment building, according to emergency services quoted by Russian state authorities.
The fire spread over 2,000 square meters (21,500 sq ft), services were added.
– ‘Everything is burning inside’ –
Regional governor Veniamin Kondratyev said on Telegram that “all fire and rescue units in the region are working to extinguish the fire”.
“The fire spread to several floors. According to preliminary information, 17 apartments are affected,” said Kondratiev.
The investigative committee investigating major crimes said it had launched a criminal investigation into the crash.
Oksana, a local resident who declined to give her last name, said the area has been cordoned off.
“There could be an explosion. Everything burns inside. There’s smoke,” she told AFP.
She said she was stuck in traffic when she heard the news.
“I’m obviously shocked. My child was home alone. Every day we fell asleep scared – Mariupol is just across the road,” she said.
Mariupol, a port city on the Azov Sea in south-eastern Ukraine, resisted relentless Russian bombardment for weeks, with resistance concentrated in a dense network of underground tunnels at the Azovstal Steelworks.
The airspace around southern Russia has been closed since the beginning of the Ukraine offensive.
The city of Yeisk is located on the Gulf of Taganrog on the Sea of ??Azov, opposite the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which is under Russian control. The city has about 85,000 inhabitants.
Accidents involving Russian civil aircraft and fighter jets are fairly common and are usually caused by technical failures or human error.
In June, a military plane crashed in the town of Ryazan, southeast of Moscow, killing four and injuring five others.
