A Tu-22M3 bomber crashes in Russia VIDEO

A Tu-22M3 strategic bomber crashed in Russia's southern Stavropol region on April 19 morning, Russia's defence ministry said.

The ministry said that the bomber's four pilots had ejected, and three of them have been rescued while the search for the fourth one continued, Gazeta.ru reports.

It said the crash appeared to have been caused by a technical malfunction.

According to the ministry there was no ammunition on board the plane. It went down in a deserted area, there was no damage on the ground.

Three crew members managed to eject and were evacuated. A search is now underway for another pilot.

The crash of the airplane on the territory of Krasnogvardeysky district in Stavropol Krai was reported by the Governor of the region Vladimir Vladimirov.

"Two pilots from the plane that went down in the Krasnogvardeysky district have been found," he noted.