The death toll has risen to 14 after a Russian warplane crashed in a residential area in Yeysk, southern Russia. The Russian authorities said on Tuesday that there were three children among them. In the afternoon, a dead man was found in the rubble of a house. On Monday evening, after the crash of the Su-34 fighter jet, which is also used in the war against Ukraine, there was talk of six deaths, and in the morning of 13 and 19 injuries.
Some residents of the house that caught fire died when they jumped from the upper floors to escape from the flames, Deputy Governor Anna Minkova said. President Vladimir Putin is deeply saddened by those families "who lost their loved ones in the wake of this catastrophe," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
According to the Ministry of Defense, the machine crashed due to a technical defect and an engine is said to have caught fire. The pilots were able to save themselves. According to the information, the machine was on a training flight and had no ammunition on board.
Crash site near a school
According to the authorities, a total of 72 apartments were destroyed and more than 500 people had to be brought to safety. Four of the injured were taken to the Krasnodar regional hospital, the others were being treated in the hospital in Yeysk, it said. The injured received not only medical but also psychological help, said Health Minister Mikhail Muraschko, who was himself in the town on the Azov Sea, on the night.
Shortly after takeoff, the fighter bomber fell next to an eight-story apartment building, part of which was set on fire. About 300 meters from the spot is a school, which according to Russian media had 600 students at the time. Nobody was injured there.
Videos from around the city showed a large explosion close to the skyscraper. Then smaller detonations could be heard. Part of the building caught fire up to the roof. The spokeswoman for the imprisoned Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, Kira Jarmysh, said that Russian fighter jets are now destroying homes not only in Ukraine, but also at home. "None of this would have happened if Putin hadn't started this war."
