MOSCOW. May 3 (Interfax) - A Russian Sukhoi Su-30SM fighter jet has crashed in Syria; both pilots are dead, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
"According to tentative information, a bird that hit the plane's engine could have caused the crash. The plane did not come under fire," the ministry said.
The fighter crashed above the Mediterranean Sea at about 9:45 a.m. Moscow time on Thursday while climbing after takeoff from the Russian Hmeimim airbase in Syria, the ministry said.
"Both pilots tried to keep the plane in the air as long as they could; reports from the ground say that they are dead," the ministry said.