Two pilots killed as Russian military jet crashes in Siberian city of Irkutsk
Oct 23, 2022
Moscow [Russia], October 23 : Russian military jet crashed into a residential building in the Siberian city of Irkutsk on Sunday, killing two pilots, CNN reported citing a local official.
"Both pilots were killed. None of the local residents were hurt," Irkutsk governor Igor Kobzev wrote on Telegram.
According to the main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the crash took place during a test flight in the Su-30 aircraft, following which a massive fire broke out. Emergency forces were called to the site of incident.
However, a formal investigation is underway.
"Investigators and forensic specialists from the territorial investigative body and the Eastern Interregional Investigation Department for Transport of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation are working at the scene of the incident," CNN reported citing a statement from the Russian Federation Investigative committee.
The crash is the second such incident in the last six days.
Earlier on October 18, a military plane crashed in a residential area of the southwestern Russian town of Yeysk, near Ukraine and left at least two dead and 15 hospitalised. The crash was due to the ignition of one of the engines, Russian state media citing the country's defence ministry.
"On October 17, 2022, a Su-34 aircraft crashed while climbing to perform a training flight from the military airfield of the Southern Military District," the ministry said in a statement to RIA. "According to the report of the ejected pilots, the cause of the plane crash was the ignition of one of the engines during take-off. At the site of the crash of the Su-34 in the courtyard of one of the residential quarters, the plane's fuel ignited."
Meanwhile, Russian authorities in the annexed territory of Kherson continue to evacuate residents to leave the town. Saturday's evacuation called for residents to cross to the eastern bank of the Dnipro River.
Kherson was annexed by Russia just last month, amid wide international condemnation.
