The death toll from the crash of a Russian fighter jet nine-story apartment building rose to 15 on Tuesday.
Fifteen bodies, including those of three children, were removed from the debris as of Tuesday, according to Russian officials. .
“I offer my sincere condolences to the families and friends of the victims,” the governor of the Krasnodar Krai region, Veniamin Kondratiev, said in a statement on his Telegram channel.
The plane crash into a residential area ignited a huge fire as tons of fuel exploded on impact. The crash occurred in Yeysk, home to some 90,000 people. The port town is on the shore of the Sea of Azov and is separated from occupied Russian territory in southern Ukraine by a narrow stretch of the sea.
A Su-34 bomber came down in the port city of Yeysk after one of its engines caught fire during takeoff for a training mission, the Russian Defense Ministry said
“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,” the ministry said in a statement to RIA. Officials said that both pilots bailed out safely.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told authorities to provide all necessary assistance to the victims of the crash, the Kremlin said in a statement.
Images and videos of the crash’s aftermath showed smoke billowing and fire blazing in the residential building which was later engulfed in flames.