A Russian warplane crashed in Syria near the border with Turkey after it was allegedly shot down for violating the Turkish airspace on Tuesday.

Moscow had confirmed that the plane was a Russian Su-24 fighter jet and has called the incident 'very serious'.  

Turkish F-16 fighters reportedly shot down the jet after it violated Turkey's airspace, according to Reuters. 

However, Russia has claimed that the plane was in Syrian airspace. It also said that the plane was shot down from the ground. 

"During the flight, the aircraft was flying within the borders of Syria, which was registered by objective monitoring data," the Russian Defence ministry reportedly said. 

The Habertürk TV channel shared footage of the purported crash, in which an object on fire is seen falling from the skies and crashing into a mountainous region. 

The pilots of the plane reportedly ejected before the crash.

However, one of the Russian pilots is said to have died, according to the Turkish channel. 

The other pilot was captured by Syrian rebels fighting the forces of Syrian President Bashar al Assad, whom Russia is assisting with airstrikes, AFP reported.

Last month, Turkey had shot down a military drone which was alleged to be of the Russian forces which are carrying out airstrikes against Isis targets in Syria. 

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