MOSCOW | A Russian Su-34 military plane crashed in a populated district of Yeysk on Monday, causing a huge fire in a building in that town on the shore of the Sea of Azov near Ukraine and killing three people, according to Russian authorities.
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Three people were killed and 19 others were injured in the crash, which caused a fire in the nine-storey building that houses about 600 residents, authorities in the Krasnodar region, where the tragedy occurred, said on Telegram.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was informed of the crash and, according to a Kremlin statement, sent Health Minister Mikhail Murashko and Emergencies Minister Alexander Kurenkov to Yeisk.
“At the site of the Sukhoi 34 crash, in the courtyard of a residential area, the plane’s fuel caught fire,” the Defense Ministry said, while images on social media filmed by witnesses showed a gigantic blaze engulfing an apartment building.
According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, cited by Russian authorities, the fire ignited five of the nine floors of the building, which covers an area of around 2,000 m2.
The MoD said the bomber pilots were able to eject. According to the same source, it was a training flight.
For his part, the governor of Russia’s Krasnodar Territory, Vénïamin Kondratiev, noted that “all the fire and rescue units of the region are involved in fighting the fire.”
Opposite Mariupol
Immediately after the accident, “the fire spread to several floors. According to preliminary information, 17 apartments are affected,” he added.
According to Kondratiev, the fire was brought under control around 17:30 GMT.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, which is responsible for the main criminal investigation, said on Telegram that it was launching a “criminal investigation”.
The city of Yeisk is located on the Sea of Azov, in the Gulf of Taganrog, directly opposite the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which was hit by bombardment and a long siege in the first months of the Russian offensive.
Oksana, a resident of the neighborhood where the plane crashed, told AFP by phone that the area was cordoned off. “There is a risk of explosion. Everything burns from within. There’s smoke,” she said.
It was her child, alone at home, who warned her about the catastrophe.
“Of course it’s a shock, the child was alone at home. Every night we went to bed scared, Mariupol is just across the street,” she said, asking to remain anonymous.
In videos and photos posted online, flames visible through a multitude of balconies and windows engulf a typical Soviet beige building.
Since Russian forces invaded Ukraine, flights have been banned throughout the region except for Russian military aircraft.
Accidents involving military aircraft remain relatively common in Russia.