Investigators seek to find out what caused private plane, that Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was listed on, to crash

A view shows smoke rising above a plane on fire following an alleged air accident at a location given as Tver region, Russia, in this still image from video. Picture: Ostorozhno Novosti/Handout via Reuters

A view shows smoke rising above a plane on fire following an alleged air accident at a location given as Tver region, Russia, in this still image from video. Picture: Ostorozhno Novosti/Handout via Reuters

Published Aug 23, 2023

Share

Investigators are on their way to the private plane crash site in Russia’s Tver Region to determine what caused the accident, the Investigative Committee said on Wednesday, adding that a criminal case has been initiated.

"On the fact of an aviation accident in the Tver region, the Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation initiated a criminal case on the grounds of a crime under Article 263 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (violation of traffic safety rules and operation of air transport)," the committee said in a statement, adding that a group of investigators are on their way to the crash site to determine what caused the accident.

Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Emergency Situations said that the Embraer Legacy private plane en route from Moscow to St Petersburg crashed in the Tver Region, killing everyone aboard. The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsia, said on that Wagner Group private military company (PMC) leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was listed among passengers of the crashed plane.

Sputnik