A Russian warplane has crashed into a residential area in the Russian port city of Yeysk, causing a massive fire at an apartment building and killing four people. 

The Russian Defense Ministry said the plane was on a training mission Monday when one of its engines caught fire. The plane’s crew safely ejected before the crash.  

Local authorities said the plane crash ignited a massive fire that engulfed several floors of a nine-story apartment building in Yeysk, on the Sea of Azov. In addition to the four dead, six people were missing and 25 others were injured, officials said. 

Several hours after the crash, Regional Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said emergency services had contained the fire. 

Yeysk, with a population of 90,000, is in southwestern Russia near the border with Ukraine and is home to a large Russian air base.  

The Defense Ministry said the plane was a Su-34 bomber, a supersonic twin-engine plane that Russia has been using during its war in Ukraine.  

President Vladimir Putin was informed of the crash and ordered government officials to provide all necessary help, the Kremlin said.  

Reuters news agency reports that Russia’s state Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case and sent investigators to the scene of the crash.  

Some information in this report comes from The Associated Press and Reuters. 

 
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