Authorities in Moscow said Tuesday that a Russian military jet crash-landed into a residential section of Yeysk, a town in southwest Russia close to the border with Ukraine, killing at least 13 people, three of whom were children.
After initially reporting three fatalities, the emergency ministry confirmed that rescuers had finished searching the wreckage and found “10 additional dead.”
According to the ministry, which Russian news outlets cited, “13 individuals overall perished, including three children, while 19 people were injured.”
On Monday evening, a Sukhoi Su-34 crashed, setting off a large fire that consumed a nine-story structure housing about 600 people.
After learning of the incident, Russian President Vladimir Putin commanded “all necessary aid.”
It was also said that “one of its engines caught fire on take-off,” causing the military jet to malfunction.
An inquiry was launched.
Veniamin Kondratyev, the regional governor, told journalists that his office was “offering utmost aid” to locals and would “determine if the home would be rebuilt, or we would build new flats.”
He added that the fire was put out by 1730 GMT on Monday.
Earlier, Kondratyev claimed on Telegram that the fire had impacted 17 apartments and reached a few stories.
A criminal inquiry into the disaster has reportedly been launched by Russia’s investigative committee, which looks into significant offenses.
The airspace surrounding southern Russia has been shut off since Ukraine’s war.
Yeysk Town is located on the Taganrog Gulf in the Sea of Azov, directly across from Mariupol. This Ukrainian city is now under Russian control following a protracted siege and relentless bombardment.
According to a local named Oksana, the area had been blocked off, and she declined to disclose her last name.
She told AFP that “there may be an explosion” since “everything is burning inside and there is smoke.”
She claimed that she was in traffic when she first received the news.
She added, alluding to the adjacent Ukrainian port earlier this year under siege by Russian forces: “I’m in shock. My child was alone at home. We already used to go to sleep with worry every day — Mariupol is right across from us.”
Russian commercial and military aircraft frequently experience accidents typically brought on by a mechanical issue or human mistake.
A military jet crashed in June, killing four people and injuring five more, near the city of Ryazan, southeast of Moscow.
