Russian strategic bomber crashes in Siberia on training exercise

A Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bomber plane crashed on Monday in Siberia's Irkutsk ​region during a training flight, the Russian Defence Ministry ‌said, but the aircraft's four-person crew had managed to safely eject.

The Tu-22, which can carry hypersonic "Kinzhal" missiles and is ​code named "Backfire" by NATO, is a Soviet-era ​supersonic bomber that Russia has since used for ⁠combat missions in Syria and Ukraine.

Unverified footage of ​the crash on social media showed a plane ​nose-diving into a thickly wooded area not far from the banks of the Angara river, producing a huge column of ​smoke.
"The crew ejected.

There is no threat to ​the pilots' lives or health," the Interfax news agency cited the ‌Defence ⁠Ministry as saying. "There is no damage on the ground. The aircraft was flying without a combat load."

Irkutsk's governor, Igor Kobzev, said in a statement that ​the plane ​had crashed near ⁠the village of Kamenka, that firefighters were working to extinguish a blaze, ​and that the plane's four crew members ​had ⁠been taken to hospital.


-Reuters