MOSCOW (AP) — The death toll from the crash of a Russian warplane into a Russian city rose to 15 on Tuesday, including three people who died when they jumped from a nine-story apartment building to escape a massive blaze, authorities said.
A Su-34 bomber came down Monday in the Sea of Azov port city of Yeysk after one of its engines caught fire during takeoff for a training mission, the Russian Defense Ministry said. It said both crew members bailed out safely, but the plane crashed into a residential area, igniting a huge fire as tons of fuel exploded on impact.
After hours of combing through the charred debris, authorities said 14 people, including three children, were found dead. Another 19 were hospitalized with injuries, and one of them died of severe burns at a local hospital, bringing the death toll to 15, said Anna Minkova, a vice governor of the region.
Yeysk, a city of 90,000, is home to a big Russian air base.
The Su-34 is a supersonic twin-engine bomber equipped with sophisticated sensors and weapons that has been a key strike component of the Russian air force. The aircraft has seen wide use during the war in Syria and the fighting in Ukraine.
