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Both pilots of lost MiG-31 jet fighter taken to safety - Defense Ministry

Doctors briefly examined the rescued pilots to conclude there was no risk to their lives
Two-seat long-range supersonic interceptor MiG-31 ITAR-TASS/Anatoly Semehin, archive
Two-seat long-range supersonic interceptor MiG-31
© ITAR-TASS/Anatoly Semehin, archive

MOSCOW, October 31. /TASS/. Both pilots of the MiG-31 fighter jet that earlier crashed in the Kamchatka Territory have been evacuated to the Yelizovo airdrome by the search and rescue service of the Eastern Military District. Rescuers arrived at the site where the pilots had been spotted as soon as the weather improved, the Defense Ministry’s press and information service told TASS.

"Doctors briefly examined the rescued pilots to conclude there was no risk to their lives," the statement said.

After the MiG-31 crew ejected themselves their location was identified by an Ilyushin-38 reconnaissance plane, which picked up the signal from the distress beacon.

The fighter jet disappeared from the radar screens in the Eastern Military district at 18:38 Moscow time, when it was on the way back to the air base in the Kamchatka Territory after a routine training flight.

The MiG-31 is a two-seat long-range supersonic interceptor, capable of attacking any air targets round the clock in any weather.