A Russian fighter jet crashed in the northwestern republic of Karelia on Thursday, killing both crew members on board, the military and regional authorities said.
The accident happened as the Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jet was performing a training flight, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry. An official statement said the plane “crashed in an uninhabited area” and that it was not carrying any live munitions.
The plane crashed around 7 p.m. local time in the Prionezhsky district, near Lake Lososinskoe, according to the Telegram news channel Baza, which has purported links to Russian law enforcement authorities. No civilians were reported injured in the air disaster.
On Thursday evening, Karelia regional head Artur Parfenchikov wrote on Telegram to express his condolences to the friends and family of the two pilots, who he said were serving in the 159th Fighter Aviation Regiment.
Parfenchikov, who said emergency responders were sent to the crash site, promised that the government would provide relatives of the pilots with “the necessary assistance.”
Aircraft from the 159th Fighter Aviation Regiment patrol Russia’s border with Finland and play a key role in the region’s air defense.
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