Russian fighter jet crashes into apartment complex, kills 13

Moscow: At least 13 people including three children were killed while 19 others sustained severe injuries after a SU-34 aircraft crashed into a nine-story residential building near Russia's Krasnodar region, sending up a fireball that engulfed a building. 

As per Russia’s Defense Ministry, the fighter-bomber crashed after its engine burst into flames during a training flight from a military airfield. Reportedly, the plane crashed into the complex’s courtyard and set the building ablaze. 

Videos and pictures shared widely on social media show plumes of smoke rising from the billowing flames. 

At least four people died and 25 were injured, the Russian Emergencies Ministry said in a statement Monday night, adding that the toll could climb.

Russia’s RIA news reported that the crew ejected from the jet after its engine caught fire on takeoff, before the crash. Photos were also captured of the crew in the air with their parachutes.

Emergency services were sent to the crash site, Krasnodar officials said. Local burn specialists, ambulance teams, psychologists and surgeons specializing in trauma and burns were among those sent. 

Russia’s Investigative Committee said it had opened a criminal case into the plane crash, sending military investigators to establish the causes and details of the incident.