Russian mercenary organisation Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was among the seven passengers and three crew members aboard a private charter jet that crashed on Wednesday (Aug. 23) while it was its route from Moscow to St. Petersburg, according to Russian news outlets.
According to local media quoting Russia’s emergency ministry, everyone on board the aircraft has passed away. It is presently uncertain if Prigozhin boarded the aircraft, although Russian officials said that a guy by the name of Prigozhin was a passenger without going into further detail.
“There were ten people on board, including three crew members. According to preliminary information, all on board were killed,” the department averred.
According to reports, the jet went down in the Tver area, north of Moscow.Social media videos captured the moment the jet crashed. WION was unable to independently confirm the video’ validity.
Yevgeny Prigozhin’s name was included among the passengers on the wrecked aircraft, according to the Federal Agency for Air Transport of Russia, which also announced that it has opened an investigation into the jet tragedy.
“An investigation of the Embraer plane crash that happened in the Tver Region this evening was initiated. According to the passenger list, first and last name of Yevgeny Prigozhin was included in this list,” the agency added.
