three russians die in Makassar

Three Russians working for Sukhoi aircraft holding in Makassar, Indonesia have died under unexplained circumstances, the head of the Russian embassy's consular department said on Tuesday. "The warranty service workers of KnAAPO aviation construction company have died," Vladimir Pronin said, adding that the engineers died on Monday.

The Russian specialists were helping Indonesian Air Force servicemen to maintain and use Russian Su-fighters that were recently delivered to the air base in the city of Makassar in Indonesia's South Sulawesi province. The cause of the deaths is being investigated, the diplomat said.

Indonesian Defense Minister, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, expressed his sincere condolence over the deaths and said the tragic incident would not affect Russian-Indonesian military technical cooperation. Under a $300 million contract, signed in 2007, Russia will complete the delivery of three Su-fighters to Indonesia by the end of 2010 in addition to two Su-27SK and two Su-30MK fighters purchased in 2003.