MOSCOW. March 23 (Interfax) - A regiment commander and two of his subordinates have died after being ejected from a Tupolev Tu-22M3 bomber near Kaluga, an informed source told Interfax.
"There is a regiment commander among the casualties," the source said.
The source did not give the names or military ranks of the deceased.
According to the source, the plane had four crewmembers, one of whom survived and has been taken to the hospital.
The so-called "commander's ejection" system, which ejects the entire crew with the push of one button, was activated, the source said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said earlier on Tuesday that three crewmembers of the Tu-22M3 plane were killed as the result of the abnormal operation of the ejection system.