Skip to main content
CNN

Fighter jet crash in Yemen's capital kills 10

From Hakim Almasmari, for CNN
updated 1:41 PM EST, Tue February 19, 2013
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • One of the plane's rockets exploded during the crash
  • At least 7 civilians were killed on the ground; 3 members of the military died in the jet
  • The aircraft hit the tops of three buildings in the center of town
  • This is the second deadly military air crash in Sanaa in three months

Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) -- A military fighter jet went down in a residential section of Yemen's capital Tuesday, killing at least 10 people. It is the second deadly air crash in Sanaa in three months.

READ: November crash of military cargo plane kills 10 in Sanaa

The jet hit the tops of three buildings in the central city, Defense Ministry officials said, setting more than a dozen houses on fire. At least one of the missiles the plane was carrying exploded during the crash.

At least seven civilians died on the ground, two of them children, and the crash injured 21 more people, a senior Defense Ministry official said. Three members of the military who were aboard the jet also died. They were on a training mission when it went down.

More explosions rang out after the crash.

Dozens of security force details, ambulances and fire trucks were deployed to the site.

"We are working on evacuating hundreds of residents from the area of the crash to ensure the safety of civilians," the official said.

In November, a military cargo plane caught fire and crashed in the city, killing 10 people.

ADVERTISEMENT
Part of complete coverage on
CNN Recommends
updated 8:59 PM EDT, Tue June 18, 2013
A man who silently stood in Taksim Square and stared at a portrait of the founder of the modern Turkish state, drew hundreds to his vigil.
Among the more intriguing pieces of history in Chinese coastal province Fujian are the tulou: large, round, rammed-earth buildings dating back centuries.
updated 11:39 AM EDT, Tue June 18, 2013
NYU did a great favor not only for the Chinese dissident but also for both the U.S. and Chinese governments, writes James Millward.
updated 11:15 PM EDT, Tue June 18, 2013
In a file picture taken on January 30, 2012, Taliban fighters stand with their weapons as they hold the Muslim holy book Koran after they joined Afghan government forces during a ceremony in Herat province. The medieval Taliban who ran Afghanistan with the Koran in one hand and a gun in the other now tweet and talk peace, but they remain a potent threat as a NATO withdrawal looms.
As Afghan forces formally take over security of the country, what is likely to be on the table when the U.S. and the Taliban meet for talks?
updated 11:14 PM EDT, Mon June 17, 2013
Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden is laying low, but that's becoming increasingly difficult. CNN's Ian Lee reports.
updated 6:36 AM EDT, Mon June 17, 2013
Snipers are doing most of the fighting in one war-torn Damascus suburb in Syria. CNN's Fred Pleitgen finds that death can come any minute.
updated 11:37 PM EDT, Tue June 18, 2013
Countries in the Middle East that have been spared political upheaval find themselves enmeshed in a different sort of battle of late...
updated 10:14 PM EDT, Mon June 17, 2013
Chris Kreis talks exclusively to CNN's Piers Morgan about his trip on a whale shark's back.
updated 8:52 AM EDT, Tue June 18, 2013
File picture showing passengers about to board an Air France plane at Le Bourget, airport, North of Paris in 1946.
From Charles Lindbergh's record-breaking landing to his solar flight, CNN takes a look back at the Paris Airshow's most memorable moments.
updated 6:40 AM EDT, Thu June 13, 2013
Scenes of violent clashes between protesters and police may make visitors to Istanbul think twice. Is it time to cancel your trip?
ADVERTISEMENT