At Least 4 Dead After Russian Military Jet Crashes Into Its Own Citizens

At least four people have died and almost two dozen are injured after a Russian military jet crashed into an apartment complex in Yeysk, a city in the southwestern region of Russia.

Footage from the crash—which happened due to engine failure, according to Reuters—shows a multi-story apartment building engulfed in flames, with sirens blaring as firefighters and ambulances rushed to the scene of the crash.

Russian state media reported that the jet, a Sukhoi Su-34 fighter-bomber, was on its way back from a “training flight” at a military base when it crashed into the courtyard of the apartment complex.

The plane crew ejected from the jet prior to impact, the Russian defense ministry reported. “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,” the ministry said in a statement.

According to Russian state news agency TASS, the fire caused by the crash has been put out by first responders, who are now in the process of “checking all the floors” in the building.

“So far, there is no danger of the building [collapsing]. The fire engulfed the first to the ninth floor only in one section,” a public safety official told the news outlet.

“Emergency services are already working on the spot. All regional fire and rescue garrisons are engaged in extinguishing the fire,” the governor of the Krasnodar Krai region said in a Telegram statement shortly after the incident.

A school around the corner from the burning apartment building has been evacuated, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has “instructed the governor and the ministers to fly to the site of the accident to provide the necessary assistance to the victims,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

A criminal case into the incident has been launched, Russia’s Investigative Committee said Monday.

The port city of Yeysk is home to multiple Russian military training centers, as well as an airbase. It sits near Russia’s border with southern Ukraine, a region that was largely occupied by Russian forces early on in the war. In recent weeks, however, Ukrainian forces have been making steady territorial gains throughout the south, prompting Kremlin-installed officials in some cities to urge citizens to evacuate to Russia.