IRKUTSK. Aug 16 (Interfax) - One of the pilots of a Russian Tupolev Tu-22M3 bomber that crashed in the Irkutsk region has died, the region's Governor Igor Kobzev said on his Telegram channel on Friday.
"Efforts at the site where the Tu-22M3 military plane crashed continued all night. To my deep regret, one of the pilots could not be saved. Such information has been received from the military command of the Russian Defense Ministry. I offer my sincere condolences to the pilot's family and friends," Kobzev said.
The other crewmembers sustained various injuries and were hospitalized, he said.
"Specialists will now have to establish the exact cause of the air crash. Yesterday, a technical malfunction was tentatively blamed for the accident," he said.
As reported previously, the four pilots of the Tu-22M3 bomber that crashed near the Mikhailovka village in the Irkutsk region's Cheremkhovo district on Thursday ejected. The plane, which was performing a routine flight, fell in an unpopulated area, causing no destruction on the ground.