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Wagner Group mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has reportedly died in a plane crash in Russia. There are four important facts from this plane crash. Wagner Group Photo/Telegram
MOSCOW – Wagner Group mercenary boss Yevgeney Prigozhin is reported to be one of 10 people killed in a private jet crash in Tver, north of Moscow, Russia, last Wednesday.
The plane was reportedly shot down by Russian forces, sparking speculation that it was an assassination operation on orders from President Vladimir Putin targeting Prigozhin.
The Embraer 135BJ Legacy 600 aircraft crashed while traveling from Moscow to St Petersburg.
4 Facts About the Plane That Reportedly Killed Prigozhin
1. Plane Drops Dramatically before Crashing
According to FlightRadar24, a Swedish website that provides real-time tracking of aircraft, the Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft started its horizontal flight from Moscow to St Petersburg at an altitude of 28,000 feet at 18:10 local time.
At 18:11 the aircraft, registered RA-02795, then continued traveling at a consistent speed for several minutes before its vertical speed began to decrease “dramatically”. The aircraft stopped transmitting information about its position at around 18:11 local time.
2. Plane Crash in Tver
The Embraer Legacy 600 private jet crashed near the village of Kuzhenkino in the Tver region, about 300 kilometers from Moscow, Russia.
3. The Cause of the Accident is Still Mysterious
Although Russian emergency services are working to deal with the aftermath of this crash, the exact cause of the plane crash is still a mystery.
A Telegram channel linked to the Wagner Group accused Russian air defense systems of shooting down the plane.
4. Aircraft Passengers
There were seven passengers and three crew members on board. So far, eight bodies have been found at the crash site.
The plane’s passenger manifest bore the name of Yevgeny Prigozhin, Russian billionaire and founder of the PMC Wagner Group.
The passenger manifest also bears the name Dmitry Utkin, callsign “Wagner”, and served as co-founder and head of the paramilitary Wagner Group.
Russian authorities have opened an investigation into the crash. The governor of Tver Igor Rudyenya personally supervised this investigation.
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