Russia said a marine was killed when one of its helicopters was fired upon during a search and rescue mission for the pilots of a Su-24 jet fighter downed by Turkish warplane earlier Tuesday, reported The Wall Street Journal.

‘With the aim of evacuating the Russian pilots from where they landed, a search and rescue mission was carried out with the use of two Mi-8 helicopters,’ Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudsky said during a Defence Ministry briefing.

‘In the course of the operation, one of the helicopters sustained gunfire and completed an emergency landing in neutral territory. One marine was killed,’ he said.

‘Lt. Gen. Rudsky also said that according to preliminary data one of the two pilots flying in the Su-24 that was shot down by a Turkish F-16 jet fighter had been killed from arms fire from the ground in midair while parachuting.’

‘Videos emerged showing rebel fighters shooting at a pilot as he descended on a parachute. Russian state television showed images of the rebels rejoicing as they recovered the pilot’s dead body.’

‘The fate of the other pilot was unknown.’

‘Lt. Gen. Rudsky also said that Turkey hadn’t attempted to contact the Russian pilots before they were fired on.’

‘The Turkish planes made no attempts to get in touch with or establish visual contact with our crew,’ said Lt. Gen. Rudsky.

‘He added that Russia was suspending all defence contacts with Turkey following the incident.’