MOSCOW – Russia’s Defence Ministry says one of its fighter jets has crashedoff the coast of Syria and that both pilots aboard were killed.

State news agency Tass cited the ministry as saying the Su-30 crashed onThursday morning while climbing after takeoff from the Russian air base atHemeimeem in Syria.

The ministry says the plane did not come under fire and that preliminaryinformation indicates the crash could have been caused by a bird beingsucked into one of the plane’s engines.