Sixteen dead as parachutists’ plane crashes in Russia

SIXTEEN people were killed when a plane carrying parachutists crashed in central Russia yesterday, the country’s emergencies ministry said.

The L-410 plane carrying 22 people crashed shortly after taking off from an airfield near the town of Menzelinsk in the republic of Tatarstan yesterday morning.

“Six people were rescued, 16 were taken out without signs of life,” the ministry said on social media. The survivors were taken to hospital.

The Menzelinsk skydiving club organises trips for amateurs but has also hosted championships and training sessions for cosmonauts.

Images published by the ministry showed the aircraft broken in half with a severely dented nose.

Rustam Minnikhanov, the president of Tatarstan, said pilots had reported an engine failure and requested an emergency landing shortly after taking off. He said the plane tried to avoid a nearby residential area as it approached for landing but “the altitude didn’t allow it”.

The plane hit a parked van with its wing and the aircraft turned over.

Today has been declared a day of mourning in Tatarstan.

Russian investigators have launched a criminal probe over the violation of safety rules.

According to Interfax, 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.

It was created in the 1920s, and Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who became the first man in space in 1961, once trained on its airfields.

The head of the Menzelinsk parachuting club said that it was not to blame for the accident. “We are the best, we are among the top five clubs,” said Ravil Nurmekhametov.