Russian authorities identify all 10 victims in Tver Region plane crash

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
27 Aug 2023 15:08

According to the Russian Investigative Committee, the identities of all 10 victims match the list stated in the flight manifest.

Russian servicemen inspect a part of a crashed private jet near the village of Kuzhenkino, Tver region, Russia, August 24, 2023. (AP)

The Russian Investigative Committee confirmed that the identities of all 10 individuals who lost their lives in the plane crash in Russia's Tver Region have been determined and correspond to the names listed on the flight manifest.

"As part of the investigation into the airplane crash in the Tver Region, molecular genetic examinations have been completed. Based on their results, the identities of all 10 victims have been established, they correspond to the list stated in the flight manifest," the Committee wrote on Telegram.

Russia's Investigative Committee said on Friday that ten bodies have been found at the site of the fatal crash of the plane that carried Wagner PMC chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

On August 24, Putin said during a meeting with Donetsk People's Republic chief Denis Pushilin that Wagner contributed significantly to the fight against Nazism in Ukraine and that Russia "will not forget" the contributions of the group's members.

Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations confirmed that a private plane on its way from Moscow to St. Petersburg crashed in the Tver Region last Wednesday, announcing that the incident killed all 10 people aboard.

"During the initial investigative actions, 10 dead bodies were found at the crash site. Molecular genetic examinations are being carried out to establish their identities," the Committee said in a statement, adding that flight recorders have been located.

It added that documents and items are crucial for tracing the causes of the crash.

"The investigation will carefully evaluate all possible versions of what happened," the statement read.

Concurrently, Russian sources reported that the body of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin had been identified in a Russian morgue by a commander of the PMC group.

According to the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel, a missing part of Prigozhin's finger on his left hand, an injury he suffered during his time at a penal colony decades ago, helped identify him.

As for Dmitry Utkin, a co-founder of Wagner, he was identified by his tattoos, according to the channel.

The morgue, which houses both bodies after the plane crash that killed all 10 on board in the Tver region, has been cordoned off by police.

Rumors initially pointed to Prigozhin potentially dodging death by using a body double or registering for a flight he didn't intend to be on to divert possible assassinations.

However, newly surfaced evidence revealed that he was on board the doomed plane, and Wagner confirmed that Prigozhin's phone was found next to one of the bodies.