Ten people have been killed in a private jet crash north of Moscow – with the Russian Civil Aviation Authority saying Yevgeny Prigozhin was on the passenger list.
Seven passengers and three crew were on board the Embraer aircraft, which was en route from Moscow to St Petersburg, TASS news agency reported.
The jet crashed in the Tver region, 60 miles north of Moscow, according to authorities, who say they are investigating the crash.
The Federal Agency for Air Transport of Russia (Rosaviatsiya) has already initiated an investigation of the crash of the Embraer plane, the agency said in its statement.
Adding that the name Yevgeny Prigozhin was included in the list of passengers of the crashed flight, the agency said: “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.”
Multiple videos circulating on social media appear to show the jet crashing.
Unconfirmed media reports suggest the business jet belonged to Prigozhin, but it was not immediately clear if he had boarded the flight.
Prigozhin in June led a short-lived mutiny in what was seen as the biggest challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rule since he came to power more than two decades ago.
The rebellion ended when Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko stepped in to broker a deal.
Prigozhin was last seen in a video yesterday that appeared to have been taken in Africa, where he spoke about making the continent “free”.
The 62-year-old Wagner Group boss released footage of himself speaking while wearing camouflage and holding a rifle.
Prigozhin also described how Wagner was tackling terrorist groups in the region and added that the group wanted to increase its presence in Africa.
He later shared details about Wagner’s recruitment in the video, which was accompanied by a telephone number for those who wanted to join.
Once a close confidant of Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin had often lambasted the likes of Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and top General Valery Gerasimov in public addresses over their handling of the Ukraine invasion.
Commenting on the jet crash, military analyst Sean Bell told Sky News: “After that aborted coup, I don’t think any of us expected Prigozhin’s life expectancy to be more than, I think we predicted three months.”
Bell said that following the unsuccessful Wagner Group mutiny, led by Prigozhin, many would have expected Vladimir Putin to “act very swiftly and decisively”.
“Probably, because of the influence Prigozhin had, not only as an oligarch but as the leader of the Wagner Group, Putin would not want to make a martyr of him.
“Therefore there was a bit of tap dancing around what to do.”
