PLANE CRASH IN RUSSIA: PRIGOZHIN AMONG PASSENGERS − RUSSIAN MEDIA
A small plane has crashed in the Bologovsky district of Tver Oblast, Russia. Rosaviatsiya, the Federal Air Transport Agency, said Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was listed as having been on board.
Source: Telegram channels Baza and Mash; Russian propagandist Ksenia Sobchak on Telegram; Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations on Telegram; Kremlin-aligned news agency TASS; Podyem news agency
Details: The incident took place near the village of Kuzhenkino. According to Baza, an Embraer business jet has crashed.
A video of the plane crash and a photo of the fire on the ground have been posted online. The video shows a plane missing one wing and falling vertically downward.
Бізнес-джет упав у Тверській області Россі, усі 7 осіб, що були на борту, загинули, пишуть російські Telegram-канали. Пишуть, що цей літак належав Пригожину pic.twitter.com/kzb8GLB6Fu
— Українська правда ✌️ (@ukrpravda_news) August 23, 2023
Russian propagandist Ksenia Sobchak, citing her own sources, reported that an Embraer plane belonging to Yevgeny Prigozhin had crashed.
Quote: "It happened 15 kilometres away from Khotilovo. According to our information, there were three crew members and seven passengers. It is not known whether Prigozhin himself was there," Sobchak reports.
Ще одне відео катастрофи літака, на борту якого, як повідомляють росЗМІ, був ватажок ПВК "Вагнер" Євгеній Пригожин. Відео з Telegram-каналу Подъём pic.twitter.com/Y1aXOfMx3F
— Українська правда ✌️ (@ukrpravda_news) August 23, 2023
Update: The Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia later confirmed that a private Embraer Legacy plane flying from Moscow to St Petersburg had crashed in Tver Oblast near the settlement of Kuzhenkino.
There were reportedly 10 people on board, including three crew members.
According to preliminary information, all those on board died.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia reported that it is conducting search operations.
The propaganda news agency TASS, citing Rosaviatsiya, reported that Yevgeny Prigozhin was listed among the passengers on the plane.
There are media reports that in addition to Prigozhin himself, his deputy Dmitry Utkin, who went under the alias Wagner, was also on board the plane.
It is reported that before the plane crashed, witnesses heard two loud bangs, after which a wing and a stabiliser fell off the plane. They landed not far from an abandoned farm in the village of Kuzhenkino.
The Telegram channel Grey Zone, which is close to the Wagner Group, claims that Yevgeny Prigozhin's plane was shot down by air defence fire.
There are also reports that an act of terrorism on board is one theory being considered.
Eyewitnesses say they saw an explosion in the air, after which the plane started to fall.
Baza, citing Flightradar, reports that the plane had not been descending before the crash. It disappeared from the radar while gaining altitude.
Russian media reported that Prigozhin did fly to Russia from Africa on 23 August, with the entire command staff of the Wagner private military company allegedly on board. There are also reports that Prigozhin's inner circle have been unable to contact him.
Later, Russian media reported that the bodies of eight people have been found at the crash site.
A second plane belonging to Prigozhin landed at Ostafyevo airport near Moscow.
The Embraer ERJ-135BJ Legacy 650 aircraft, registration RA-02748, reportedly left Moscow for St Petersburg at 17:19, landing at 18:27. A short time later, it flew back and landed in the Russian capital at 20:02. No information is available about the passengers on board.
FlightRadar reports that the plane was due to fly to Baku, Azerbaijan, on 24 August.
The news agency Agentstvo notes that the village of Kuzhenkino, near which the plane crashed, is located 50 km from Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s Valdai residence.
The news agency Meduza recalled that 23 August is exactly two months after the Wagner Group mutiny. Prigozhin announced his "march for justice" on the evening of 23 June.
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