Rebels: Russian pilots ‘shot dead’ as they parachuted from plane

The two Russian pilots who parachuted from their fighter jet after being fired upon by Turkey were shot dead as they descended to the ground, a rebel group has said.

Alpaslan Celik, the deputy commander of a Syrian Turkmen brigade, told reporters near the Syrian village of Yamadi that the bodies of both pilots had been found.

“Our comrades opened fire into the air and they died in the air,” Celik was quoted as saying by Reuters. He was holding a piece of what he said was a pilot’s parachute.

The comments came as a video surfaced that appeared to show the shooting. In it, numerous rounds are fired into the air as two parachutes descend. A man can be heard shouting in Turkish in the background, urging people to stop shooting so the pilots can be taken hostage.