MOSCOW, February 14 (Itar-Tass) —— A criminal case is opened in Chelyabinsk over the crash of a Su-24M bomber.

After conducting an inquiry into the fall of a Su-24M plane three kilometres away from the residential site of Kalmyk-Abdrashevo, the Kurgan Region, on February 13, the Russian Investigative Committee's Chelyabinsk military department opened a criminal case on charges of violation of the flight and flight preparation regulations (Article 351 of the Russian Criminal Code), a source at the Main Military Investigative Department told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.

According to the preliminary information, the Su-24 was on a training flight and crashed at about 18:42 Moscow time on Monday. The crew commander -- the military unit's commander Col. Nikolai Gostev and the second crewmember Lieut.-Col. Andrei Yermakov were safely ejected.

Military investigators with other specialists examine the site and study flight and aircraft documents. Servicemen who directly participated in plane's preparation for the flight are questioned.

The investigators are doing all possible to establish the cause of the crash, the source added.