According to Russia’s Emergencies Ministry, all 10 people — three crew members and seven passengers — on board the private Embraer Legacy jet were killed in the crash.

New Delhi: Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who attempted an unsuccessful coup against Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been reportedly killed in a plane crash in Russia’s Tver region. Besides him, nine other people on board were also dead in the crash. Prigozhin was on the passenger list but it remains unclear if he was on board. According to Russia’s Emergencies Ministry, all 10 people — three crew members and seven passengers — on board the private Embraer Legacy jet were killed in the crash.

Reacting to the reports of Prigozhin’s death, a social media user said, “That didn’t take too long.” Billionaire investor and ‘X’ owner Elon Musk replied, “Longer than I expected.” “Slight chance this is a psy op,” he added.

Longer than I expected.

Slight chance this is a psy op.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 23, 2023

Russia’s civilian aviation agency, Rosaviatsia, quickly reported that he was on the manifest and later said that, according to the airline, he was indeed on board.

Earlier, Vladimir Rogov, a Russia-appointed official in the partially occupied Zaporizhzhia region in Ukraine, said he talked to Wagner commanders who also confirmed that Prigozhin was aboard, as was Dmitry Utkin, whose call sign Wagner became the company’s name.

Tver region Governor Igor Rudenya has taken “personal control” over the response to the plane crash, his press service told state media, adding that the plane was a civil aircraft, The Moscow Times reported.

At the time, President Vladimir Putin denounced the rebellion as “treason” and a “stab in the back” and vowed to avenge it. But the charges against Prigozhin were soon dropped. The Wagner chief, whose troops were some of the best fighting forces for Russia in Ukraine, was allowed to retreat to Belarus, while reportedly popping up in Russia from time to time.

A plane carrying three crew members and seven passengers that was en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg went down almost 300 kilometers (185 miles) north of the capital, according to officials cited by Russia’s state news agency Tass.

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