“Neither I nor my mother blame the pilots.” A resident of the Krasnodar Territory lost seven loved ones after a Su-34 fighter crashed onto a residential building in Yeisk

On October 17, a Russian Su-34 combat aircraft crashed into a nine-story residential building in Yeisk. The pilots managed to eject, but according to official data, 15 people died on the ground due to the collision and fire. Among them were seven family members of Krasnodar Territory resident Andrei Ishchenko.

The plane crashed onto the third entrance of the house, on the seventh floor of which Andrei’s younger brother Alexander lived.

“I called my brother, he picked up and said “later.” When they say “I’ll call you back later,” it means that people are busy and will call you back when they are free. But he didn’t call back, then I called again, but he didn’t answer the call,” says 56-year-old Andrei Ishchenko.

Living in a three-room apartment with Alexander Ishchenko were his wife Galina, their children: 26-year-old Natalya and 20-year-old Anton, as well as three grandchildren: Ivan, Nina and Kolya (nine, eight and six years old). They were all at home that evening and died.

According to Andrei Ishchenko, rescuers immediately discovered the bodies. Natalya and her three children were lying near a destroyed flight of stairs.

“They were walking along the stairs and, apparently, could not go down; the stairs were destroyed. Alexander was also on the fly, he apparently made sure that everyone left the apartment. I don’t know where Galina and Anton were,” said Andrey Ishchenko.

Ishchenko did not talk to his mother for a long time about the death of her youngest son and his entire family, but when she finally found out, the woman felt bad. The day after the tragedy, Ishchenko was in Yeisk and immediately went to identify the bodies. The family was buried on October 20. All services, including the funeral dinner, were paid for by the city administration. For this, Andrei Ishchenko thanked the authorities several times in an interview with a 7x7 journalist.

“I thanked you for organizing the funeral, for organizing and paying for the funeral dinner, for your help in preparing the documents. The mother, who was not far from Andrei, also repeatedly conveyed words of gratitude,” the publication writes.

Andrei Ishchenko also said that he does not blame the pilots of the plane that crashed on the house for the death of his loved ones. He believes that as long as Russian pilots protect the skies, Yeisk is safe.

“Neither I nor my mother blame the pilots. The guys pulled until the last minute; they were literally 850 meters short of the estuary before they fell into the estuary [Yeisky estuary, a bay near the city]. They did everything they could. I understand it will be hard, but they have to live with it. The main thing is that they fly further, protect our sky, and do not break in this situation,” the man said.

The day before, the TASS agency, citing its own sources in law enforcement agencies, reported that the cause of the crash of the Su-34 plane in Yeisk was birds that got into the engine during takeoff.

Source: "7x7"

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