Residents of a Russian village near the site of a plane crash believed to involve Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Russian private military group Wagner, reported hearing a loud explosion followed by witnessing the aircraft plummeting to the ground. The private plane, an "Embraer Legacy 600," crashed yesterday, Wednesday, near the village of Kuzhenkino in the Tver region while en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg, resulting in the death of all ten people on board, including seven passengers and three crew members.
There has been no official comment from the Kremlin or the Ministry of Defense regarding Prigozhin's fate, but a Telegram channel linked to Wagner named (Gray Zone) announced his death. A Reuters correspondent at the crash site early Thursday morning observed men carrying black body bags. A part of the plane's tail, marked with white and blue, and other debris were seen near a wooded area. Investigators set up a tent and lighting equipment at the site, with debris located near what appeared to be an unfinished abandoned building.
One villager, 72-year-old Vitaly Stepinok, told Reuters: "I heard an explosion or crack. Usually, if there is an explosion on the ground, there is an echo, but it was just a bang, and I looked up and saw white smoke." He added: "One of the wings detached in a different direction while the body of the plane fell like this," gesturing with his arms that the plane went straight down. He noted, "Then it glided on one wing; it didn't crash nose-first but glided," expressing concern it might hit houses in the village.
The man continued, "I was there, so I jumped on my bike and reached (the crash site) in about 20 minutes. The fire was consuming everything. There were people moving around the wreckage. They pulled someone or remains of someone. I couldn't discern well. I saw the number on the plane and told them." Another villager named Anatoly stated, "Regarding the possibilities of what happened, I say the following: it's not lightning, but a metallic explosion. I've heard such things before, and then it fell there."
