5
0
IRKUTSK, Russia, Oct 23 (Reuters) - A Russian military jet crashed into a residential building in the Siberian city of Irkutsk on Sunday and the two pilots were killed, officials said, the second such fatal incident in six days involving a Sukhoi fighter plane.
In a post on Telegram, Irkutsk governor Igor Kobzev said the plane crashed into a two-story house in the city. He published a video showing firefighters clambering over the wreckage and directing jets of water at the still-smoldering rubble.
No one on the ground was hurt, the governor said.
Officials said the plane was a Sukhoi Su-30 fighter on a test flight. Last Monday, a Sukhoi Su-34 crashed into an apartment block in the southern city of Yeysk, near Ukraine, and at least 15 people were killed.
Authorities said initial investigation of that disaster - in which the pilots ejected - pointed to a technical malfunction of the aircraft.
Videos of Sunday's incident, shared on social media, showed the plane dived almost vertically before crashing in a fireball, sending dense black smoke into the sky. Kobzev said 150 nearby homes were without electricity and work was under way to restore power.