Russia's Wagner mercenary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin 'dies' in plane crash, say reports

A private charter plane that was carrying seven people and three crew memberscrashed on Wednesday (Aug 23) when it was on its way toSt Petersburg from Moscow, triggering reports ofRussian mercenary group Wagner chiefYevgeny Prigozhin's death in the accident.

Russian news media reported citing authorities that someone by the name of Yevgeny Prigozhin was on the passenger list of the aircraft, while not confirming whether it was indeed the Wagner Group chief who died.

Local media citing Russia’s emergency ministry reportedthat all the 10 people on board the plane had died, with video shared on social media showing it in flames.

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It is currently unknown whetherPrigozhin had in fact boarded the plane, but the Russian officials said that a man with Prigozhin’s name was among the passengers, without elaborating further.

"There were 10 people on board, including three crew members. According to preliminary information, all on board were killed," the department said.

The plane is said to have crashed in the Tver region, north of Moscow.Videos circulating on social media showed the moment the planecrashed.

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WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of the clips.

The Federal Agency for Air Transport of Russia has said that it has initiated a probe intothe plane crash and addedthat the name Yevgeny Prigozhin was in the list of passengers of the crashed flight, Tass news agency reported.

"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 noted.

Meanwhile, Sputnik has reported citing emergency officials that eight bodies have been found at the crash site of Embraer plane in Russia's Tver Region.

The news of his purporteddeath came days after the Wagner chief made his first video appearance in the aftermath of his failed coup attempt after growing discontent against thetop Russian defence officials for overlooking the mercenary group's needs.

In the video, shared on the Telegram app, 62-year-old Prigozhin was seen vowing to make Africa “more free” and “Russia even greater on every continent".

The video purportedly shows the man standing in a desert-like area, dressed in military fatigues and wearing a bulletproof vest featuring the Wagner logo.

“We are working. The temperature is plus 50 (degrees Celsius). Everything is how we like it,” Prigozhin appears to say in the video while holding an assault rifle in his hands. Armed men on pickup trucks can be seen in the background, seemingly keeping a safety perimeter around him.

Once a close aide of Vladimir Putin,Prigozhin's ties with the Russian leader nosedived following his bid to overthrow the top leadership.Prigozhin and Putin have known each other since the 1990s. He became a wealthy oligarch by winning lucrative catering contracts with the Kremlin, earning him the moniker “Putin’s chef.”

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