“Today an aircraft from the Russian Air Force in the Syrian Arab Republic crashed in Syria supposedly shot down from the ground,” the ministry said in a statement.

The downing of the Russian plane is "a very serious incident,” said Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov. He added, however, that it is too early to draw conclusions until the whole situation is clear.

The pilots managed to eject, the ministry said, adding their fate is as yet unknown.

Footage has emerged online, allegedly showing Russian pilots from the downed jet immobile on the ground and surrounded by locals. Some reports claim that one pilot is dead.

“During the flight, the aircraft was flying only within the borders of Syria. That was registered by objective monitoring data,” the ministry added, RT reports.

Reports of a downed plane emerged earlier in Turkish media. A Habertürk TV reporter on the scene said the aircraft “turned into a fireball.” Numerous witnesses wrote on social media, saying thick plumes of smoke have been rising from the jet crash site.

Meanwhile a Turkish military official told the Reuters news agency that Turkish F-16s had fired on the jet after warning it that it was violating Turkish airspace.

Turkish military added the plane had been warned at least 10 times over a period of five minutes before being shot down by two Turkish F-16 fighter jets. He said the plane had violated Turkish airspace.

The plane reportedly crashed in a village mostly populated by Syrian Turkmen. The place has been a hotspot between the "opposition" and the Syrian Army.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has met with officials from the Foreign Ministry. He instructed them to consult with NATO and the UN on the latest developments on the Syrian border, Davutoglu’s office said in a statement.