At least 16 dead after plane carrying convoys crashes in central Russia | Russia

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The Russian Ministry of Health announced that a plane carrying parachute convoys crashed in central Russia, killing 16 people and seriously injuring six others.

Russian officials said the L-410 crashed around 9.20 a.m. local time during a flight over the Republic of Tatarstan. Six people rescued from the wreckage described themselves as being in a “very serious condition”.

The TASS news agency said the plane crashed shortly after taking off from the local airport. Pictures issued by the Ministry of Emergencies showed that the plane was split in half and had a bulging nose.

According to Russian media, the plane was built in 1987 and was owned by the government-linked volunteer association for cooperation with the army, aviation and navy, a sports and defense organization.

The head of the regional branch of the organization said that the skydiving club that operated the trip was very experienced.

“We are the best, we are among the top five clubs,” Ravel Nurmkhametov told Tass, adding that his organization has hosted international skydiving competitions.

The Russian authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the crash. The head of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, who was heading to the scene of the accident, told local media that the plane’s left engine failed.

“A tragedy happened. Unfortunately, at this moment we have lost 16 people.

A source in the aviation services told TASS that the plane may have been overloaded.

This is the third fatal accident in Russia this year for the L-410, a twin-engine transport aircraft produced by Czech aircraft manufacturer Let Kunovice.

Poor aircraft maintenance and lax safety standards remain a problem in Russia despite efforts to improve its aviation safety record.

In isolated regions of Russia, weather conditions are often extreme and unpredictable, and the country frequently experiences non-fatal air accidents that lead to emergency landings and altered flights.

There were a number of fatal civilian aircraft crashes in eastern Russia during the summer.

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