Fresh embarrassment for Putin as Russian warplane bursts into flames and 'crashes into frozen lake'
26 April 2023, 21:29 | Updated: 26 April 2023, 21:40
A Russian fighter jet has burst into flames before crashing down on a frozen lake in the Murmansk region of the country, state media reports.
The jet crashed in the north-west of the country, after catching fire during a training flight, according to reports citing law enforcement agencies.
In a statement, the Russian defence ministry said the MIG-31 Foxhound crashed "in a deserted place".
It added: "Both pilots ejected. The pilots were promptly evacuated by a helicopter of the search and rescue service, nothing threatens their lives and health."
State-owned agency TASS said in a report earlier that that preliminary data suggested the plane fell into a lake.
Read more: Ten people arrested on suspicion of murder as man dies after 'break in' in West London
It did not provide any information on what caused the caused the flames.
Videos of the incident emerged online, appearing to show the jet in the moments before it came crashing down.
In one clip, the jet can seen be flying overhead with flames and smoke trailing behind it, before disappearing out of view beyond a line of trees.
One eyewitnesses told news outlet Readovka that the jet had been on fire from take-off. "The plane took off and everything was already on fire," they said.
An official probe into what caused the crash is underway.
Russian Mikoyan MiG-31 fighter jet crashed near the city of Monchegorsk, Murmansk Oblast of Russia.
— Status-6 (@Archer83Able) April 26, 2023
The aircraft was visibly on fire before the crash. According to reports, the two crew-members managed to eject before their plane hit the ground. pic.twitter.com/9zE9LJh1V9
The plane is thought to have come down close to the village of Rizh-Guba, near Lake Imandra.
It comes after one of a Russian jet accidentally bombed the Russian city of Belgorod close to the Ukrainian border last week in an embarrassing blunder.
Shocking footage showed the moment the weapon struck, sending shockwaves through a road in the city centre, close to nearby traffic.
The blast knocked took down power supply lines, damaged a number of cars, smashed windows in nearby apartment buildings and left a 20-meter crater, the city's regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
Around an hour after the weapon stuck, the Russian defence ministry admitted that the blast was caused by a weapon that dropped on the city accidentally by one of its own bombers.
