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Official says fuel likely reason for Russian strategic bomber's crash

"Engines never fail on their own, especially all at once," the vice-premier told journalists
Russian Vice-Premier Dmitry Rogozin EPA/DUMITRU DORU
Russian Vice-Premier Dmitry Rogozin
© EPA/DUMITRU DORU

NOVO-OGARYOVO, July 15 /TASS/. Engine failure could not have been the main cause behind the Tupolev Tu-95MS plane crash. Fuel is likely to be the main problem, Russian Vice-Premier Dmitry Rogozin said on Wednesday.

"Engines never fail on their own, especially all at once," the vice-premier told journalists. He did not rule out that low-quality fuel could have caused the Russian Air Force plane to crash.

The aircraft crashed in the Khabarovsk Territory in the Russian Far East during a training flight on Tuesday morning. 

The flight was performed without an ammunition allowance. The plane crashed in a deserted area and there is no destruction on the ground.

Russia’s Defense Ministry suspended the flights of Tupolev Tu-95MS (NATO reporting name: Bear) strategic bombers. 

The Defense Ministry’s press office said that a technical failure is the likely cause for the crash. A source told TASS that the strategic bomber crashed due to failure of all of its four engines.