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BFF-24
RUSSIA-AVIATION-ACCIDENT
Four dead after plane carrying parachutists crashes in Siberia
MOSCOW, June 19, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Four people were killed and four others
seriously injured on Saturday after a plane carrying parachutists crashed in
Siberia, Russian authorities said.
The L-410 plane carrying 19 people crashed around 10:00 am local time (0300
GMT) during a training flight at the Tanay airfield in the Siberian region of
Kemerovo — also known as Kuzbass — authorities said.
The TASS news agency cited the local prosecutor’s office as saying that the
failure of one of the plane’s engines caused the crash.
An image published by the Investigative Committee, which probes major
crimes in Russia, showed debris strewn across a field with an ambulance
parked nearby.
“At the moment it is known that as a result of the accident four people
died. Information about other victims is being specified,” the Investigative
Committee said in a statement.
The committee said it had opened a probe into violation of traffic safety
rules and the operation of air transport.
Kemerovo regional governor Sergei Tsivilyov said on Instagram that of the
19 people on board, four had died, four were in serious condition and the
other 11 were injured.
Anton Duzhik, spokesman for the Kuzbass Centre for Disaster Medicine, told
AFP that the four people in serious condition had been evacuated by
helicopter and were being treated.
He said the 11 others who were injured did not did not suffer anything
“demanding” and were examined at the site of the crash.
TASS reported that the Tanay airfield hosts an amateur parachuting centre.
It added that the plane belonged to the Voluntary Society for Assistance to
the Army, Aviation and Navy of Russia, which describes itself as a sports and
defence organisation.
The director for the organisation’s Kemerovo region branch, Viktor
Shemokhanov, told TASS that the plane did not have any known issues.
“The plane was making its fourth flight of the day, and, of course, was in
good condition,” he said.
BSS/AFP/IJ/1705 hrs