Second Pilot of Downed Russian Warplane Is Safe

A still image made available on 24 November 2015 from video footage shown by the HaberTurk TV Channel shows two parachutes in the sky after a plane was shot down near the Turkish-Syrian border, over north Syria, 24 November 2015. Photo: EPA/HABERTURK TV C

The second pilot of the Russian Su-24 warplane, which was brought down by Turkey near the Turkish-Syrian border on Tuesday, is safe and sound.

This was announced by Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu on Wednesday, TASS news agency informs.

The pilot was rescued by Russian and Syrian forces and taken to base, in an operation which lasted for twelve hours.

Ankara claims that the Russian aircraft had violated Turkish airspace and had been warned ten times before being shot down, while Moscow maintains that the airplane was in Syrian airspace.

The warplane was brought down by an air-to-air missile launched by a Turkish F-16 fighter jet.

Both pilots managed to eject themselves, but one of them was killed in midair by gunfire from the ground.

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