MOSCOW — A Russian Tu-95 strategic bomber, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, crashed Tuesday during a training mission in the Amur region of Russia's Far East.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that the aircraft went
down in an unpopulated area and was not carrying weapons at the time of the
crash. Of the seven crew members, six died and one survived with injuries and
was taken to a hospital.
The crash occurred near the town of Krasnoyarovo, on the banks
of the Zeya River and close to the border with China. Regional authorities
stated that the pilots attempted to keep the aircraft away from populated areas
before the impact.
The Tu-95 is a four-engine strategic bomber developed during
the Cold War and remains in service with the Russian Air Force. The aircraft
has nuclear capabilities and has also been used by Russia to launch cruise
missiles with conventional warheads during the war in Ukraine.
Russian authorities
have sent a team of investigators to the site to determine the cause of the
crash. So far, the Ministry of Defense has not publicly reported what caused
the bomber to go down.