[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”46099″ img_size=”large”][/vc_column][/vc_row]The second pilot of the Su-24 bomber downed by Turkey has been rescued by the Russian and Syrian forces and is safe and sound, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Wednesday.
“The operation ended successfully. The pilot has been taken to our base [in Latakia]. Safe and sound,” news agency TASS quotes Shoigu as saying.
According to Shoigu, the rescue operation lasted for 12 hours. He thanked all men involved as they were ‘taking great risks’.
In an interview with radio station Europe 1, Russian Ambassador to France Alexander Orlov has mentioned the operation:
“After the plane was shot down, the both pilots managed to eject. However, one of them was injured when parachuting. Then he was brutally murdered by jihadists who were firing from the ground. The other pilot escaped and, according to the latest information, he was picked up by representatives of the Russian army. The pilot was to be taken back to to the Russian airbase.”
The crew of the Russian Sukhoi Su-24 warplane, as well as participants in the rescue operation, will receive state awards, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday. The bomber’s commander will get the Hero of Russia title posthumously.
Read also: Syrian militants claim they shot down Russian helicopter
Belsat.eu, following TASS
