Is Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin dead? Here's what we know so far

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group, has been presumed dead after it was claimed by Russian agencies that he was on board a plane that crashed on Wednesday (August 23). Officials have said that all 10 passengers were killed.

The Kremlin or the defence ministry has not responded yet and there are multiple claims and counterclaims aboutthe deadly crash, with some suggesting Prigozhin was not on it, and some claiming the opposite.

US President Joe Biden alleged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin's involvement, and France said on Thursday that there were "reasonable doubts" about the cause of the plane crash. French government spokesman Olivier Veran told France 2 television: "We don't yet know the circumstances of this crash. We can have some reasonable doubts."

Theories have been floating online, with some linking the crash to the mutiny which happened in June after Prigozhin launched a short-lived rebellion, seen as the biggest challenge to Putin's authority since becoming the president. Since then uncertainty has surrounded the fate of Wagner and its controversial chief.

The answer to the question of whether or not the Wagnerboss is dead is getting murkier. Here are all the details that have been confirmed through official channels:

-Russian officials said that the plane departed from Moscow and was en route to St. Petersburg. It crashed near the village of Kuzhenkino, in Russia’s western Tver region.

-The plane was an Embraer. Brazilian makers have said they had stopped providing any support for aircraft in 2019 because of sanctions.

Watch this report:

-The Flightradar24 online tracker showed that the Embraer plane (registration number RA-02795) had dropped off the radar at 6:11 pm (1511 GMT).

-The plane reached an altitude of some 28,000 feet before it suddenly stopped transmitting tracking details.

-Officials published the names of all 10 people on board the downed plane, which included Prigozhin. Preliminary information revealed all 10 people on board died, including three crew members.

(With inputs from agencies)

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