The Rio news agency reports about sixteen victims. Other agencies initially spoke of nineteen dead and three injured. Official confirmation of the number of victims is not yet available. Paratroopers from the local aeroclub were on board, Interfax reported.
According to the authorities, at least seven people survived the plane, but they are seriously injured. Photos of the wreck appear on social networks. Rescuers report that the plane caught fire, but that they quickly put out the fire.
The pilot attempted an emergency landing
According to the media, the cause of the accident could be a technical fault, because the pilot tried to make an emergency landing. According to initial findings, there were two pilots and twenty passengers on board. The crash site is about 290 kilometers east of Kazan, the capital of the Tatar Autonomous Republic.
Dozens of people have died in several air accidents in Russia this year, the DPA agency recalls. This is often caused by breaches of safety regulations, outdated technology or human error.
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