A large blaze engulfs the building, and witnesses say it burns from the first to the ninth floors.


Initial reports said the Sukhoi Su-34 jet came down after a fire in one of its engines [File: Universal Images Group via Getty Images]

A military aircraft has crashed into a residential building in the southern Russian city of Yeysk after what the defence ministry said was engine failure.

Unconfirmed footage on social media showed a large fireball erupting from a multistory building on Monday. There were no immediate reports on the number of casualties in the port city on the Sea of Azov.

The aircraft was identified as a Sukhoi Su-34 fighter jet. The crew managed to eject before the plane crashed, according to the defence ministry.

A large blaze engulfed the building, stoked by jet fuel, and witnesses were quoted by Russia's Tass news agency as saying it was on fire from the first to the ninth floors. Firefighters were battling the blaze.

"While climbing to perform a training flight from the military airfield of the southern military district, a Su-34 aircraft crashed," a ministry statement said. "The cause of the crash of the aircraft was a fire in one of the engines during takeoff."

The Interfax news agency quoted emergency services as saying five floors of the apartment building were on fire, the upper floors had collapsed and about 45 apartments were damaged.

The blaze spread over 2,000sq m (21,500sq feet), it said. Yeysk, a city of about 90,000 people, is home to a large Russian air base.

‘Establishing the circumstances'
The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin was immediately informed about the crash, and he ordered ministers of health and emergency services along with the local governor to head to the site.

Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said on Telegram that "all fire and rescue units in the region are working on extinguishing the fire".

Russia's investigative committee later announced it had launched a criminal investigation into the crash. "Military investigators are establishing the circumstances and causes of the incident," it said.

Yeysk is located on the Tangarog Gulf in the Sea of Azov, which separates southern Ukraine and southern Russia.

Yeysk lies directly across the sea from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which is under Russian control after Moscow launched its invasion in February.

The Su-34 is a supersonic twin-engine bomber equipped with sophisticated sensors and weapons that has been a key component of the Russian air force. The aircraft has seen wide use during the war in Syria and the fighting in Ukraine.

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