PremiumIrkutsk, in Siberia, saw a Russian warplane crash into a house on Sunday, killing both crew members, according to local authorities. No on-ground casualties were reported immediately
A Russian warplane crashed into a residential building in the Siberian city of Irkutsk Sunday, killing both crewmembers, regional authorities said. There was no immediate information on casualties on the ground.
In a post on Telegram, Irkutsk governor Igor Kobzev said the plane crashed into a two-storey house in the city. The emergencies ministry said the pilots died, but there were no other casualties.
"Both pilots were killed. None of the local residents were hurt... The Su aircraft was carrying out a test flight," the governor said on social media, posting a video of the building with smoke billowing against a dark sky and firefighters working at the scene.
The local branch of Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said the Su-30 fighter jet crashed during a training flight and fell on a two-story wooden building, sparking a fire.
Videos posted on social networks from surveillance cameras showed the building engulfed by flames and firefighters deployed to extinguish the blaze.
The crash came less than a week after another Russian warplane crashed near an apartment building in the Sea of Azov port of Yeysk and exploded in a giant fireball, killing 15 and injuring another 19.
Sunday's crash was the 11th reported noncombat crash of a Russian warplane since Moscow sent its troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24. Military experts have noted that as the number of Russian military flights increased sharply during the fighting, so did the crashes.
Irkutsk, a major industrial center of more than 600,000 in eastern Siberia, is home to an aircraft factory producing the Su-30 fighter planes.
The Su-30 is a supersonic twin-engine, two-seat fighter that has been a key component of the Russian air force and also has been used by India and other countries.