MOSCOW, December 2. A MiG-31 fighter-interceptor crashed during a routine training flight in the Primorsky Region in the Russian Far East and the crew ejected itself, the press office of Russia’s Eastern Military District reported on Friday.

"On December 2, a MiG-31 aircraft crashed during a routine training flight. The crew ejected itself," the press office said in a statement.

Mi-8 helicopters of the search and rescue service have been sent to the crash site, the press office specified.

"The aircraft conducted its flight without an ammunition load. It crashed in a desolate place and there is no destruction on the ground. According to preliminary information, a technical fault could have caused the crash," it said.

The MiG-31 is a Soviet-and subsequently Russian-made long-range supersonic two-seat all-weather fighter jet. The aircraft is armed with a 23mm six-barrel gun. MiG-31 modifications can carry air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles of various types, air bombs and hypersonic aero-ballistic missiles.