Six killed as Russian Tu-95 bomber crashes during training flight

At least six military personnel were killed when a Russian Tu-95 strategic bomber crashed during a training flight in the Amur region, the Russian Defence Ministry said Tuesday (September 29).

The aircraft went down in an unpopulated area near the village of Krasnoyarovo, along the Zeya River near the Chinese border, after suffering a mechanical failure, according to the ministry.

Seven crew members were aboard the aircraft. Six were killed, while another was rescued in critical condition and taken to a nearby military hospital.

The ministry said the bomber was not carrying any weapons or ammunition when it crashed.

Regional authorities said the pilots managed to steer the aircraft away from residential areas shortly before the crash, preventing potentially greater casualties on the ground.

A team of investigators was dispatched to the crash site to determine the cause of the accident and recover the aircraft’s flight recorders, the Defence Ministry said.

The Tu-95 is a long-range strategic bomber capable of carrying nuclear weapons, although authorities said no weapons were aboard during the training mission.