A Russian strategic bomber crashed during a routine flight over the Siberian region of Irkutsk, killing one of the crew members, regional authorities said early Friday.
Russia’s Defense Ministry initially reported the crash of the Tu-22M3 bomber late Thursday, saying the crew managed to eject from the aircraft.
“The plane crashed in an uninhabited area. There is no damage on the ground,” Russia’s Defense Ministry was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency.
According to military officials, the suspected cause of the Tu-22M3 bomber crash was a technical malfunction. Videos circulated on social media show the plane catching fire mid-air.
Irkutsk region Governor Igor Kobzev initially said Thursday that four crew members on board the aircraft managed to parachute to safety. But he later wrote one had died.
“To my deep regret, one of the pilots could not be saved,” Kobzev wrote Friday morning, adding that the surviving crew members were hospitalized with “injuries of varying severity.”
“Experts now have to determine the exact cause of the crash,” the governor said.
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