Dramatic footage captured a Russian Su-25 fighter jet crashing into the sea just off a packed tourist beach.
In the latest embarrassment for Vladimir Putin, the Su-25 aircraft nosedived into the Sea of Azov near the town of Yeysk on Monday.
Footage shared on social media shows the plane hurtling towards the water before it smashes into the sea with an almighty splash.
A search and rescue helicopter then began circling above a crowd of swimmers on a nearby tourist beach as fears for the pilot grew.
However, he had reportedly managed to eject himself from the doomed jet just in time and also plunged into the sea a short distance away.
In another video, the pilot can be seen parachuting down as the Su-25 was engulfed by the waves just a matter of metres away.
The impact of his hefty tumble into the ocean reportedly broke both of his legs.
Local news claim he was “unconscious” when rescuers finally reached him and that he was taken to hospital in a “critical condition.”
The pilot reportedly abandoned the aircraft as soon as he realised it was losing altitude.
According to Baza, a Russian Telegram channel with links to the security services, as the canopy of the parachute fell, “the lines became tangled.”
It continued: “The pilot swallowed water and almost drowned. However, he was able to hold out until rescuers arrived.
“Now he has already been delivered to the shore, the pilot is being resuscitated.”
But according to The Moscow Times, the Mash and Baza Telegram channels said that emergency crews ultimately failed to save the pilot, who reportedly could not be resuscitated on the way to the hospital after breaking his legs and getting tangled in his parachute.
The waterlogged Su-25 was left “sticking out of the shallows” off a popular tourist beach in the Krasnodar region.
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