A military aircraft has crashed in a residential area of the southern Russian town of Yeysk, killing at least two people and injuring 15, according to local reports.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said the plane, a Su-34 fighter bomber, was on a training flight when one of its engines caught fire.
The pilots in the aircraft ejected before the crash into the nine storey building, the ministry said.
Its statement added: “According to a report from the pilots, who jettisoned from the plane, the reason for the crash was a fire in one of the engines during take-off.”
“At the point where the Su-34 came down, in the courtyard of a residential block, the plane’s fuel supply caught fire.”
Yeysk, a city of about 90,000, is home to a major Russian air base.
In a telegram social media post the governor of the Krasnodar territory, which Yeysk is part of, said he was on his way to the town and all regional and local fire services were battling the blaze.
Local media report the fire engulfed five floors of the multi-storey building and a number of apartment blocks have been damaged.
The Kremlin has ordered national and regional authorities to provide “all necessary assistance” to victims of the fire in the centre of the southern city of Yeysk, Tass news agency reports.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said it had opened a criminal case and sent investigators to the site of the crash, without giving any reasons, Reuters news agency reported.
Yeysk sits opposite Russian-occupied territory in southern Ukraine, separated by the Sea of Azov.
