Horrifying moment Wagner chief Prigozhin’s private jet crashes and erupts in an exploding ball of flame after ‘falling from the sky’ – leaving Putin’s feared rival dead
This is the horrific moment when a plane, believed to be aboard Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, crashed and caught fire in a field in rural Russia.
Shocking footage shows the business jet, believed to have seven passengers and three pilots on board, falling through the air, leaving a trail of black smoke behind it.
The plane then crashes into a field in the Bologovsky district of the Tver region, 90 kilometers north of Moscow, and erupts in a ball of flame.
Unconfirmed videos taken from distant fields show a plume of black smoke filling the sky, while closer footage shows the wreckage of what appears to be a plane engulfed in an intense fire.
Plumes of black smoke can be seen roaring into the sky as the wreckage engulfs in flames.
A plane believed to have been carrying Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin fell from the sky today and crashed into a field in Russia’s Tver region
Unconfirmed videos show what appears to be an airplane on fire, as plumes of smoke billow into the sky
The numbers 795 are just discernible on the edge of the scrap heap, which corresponds to the aircraft linked to the ex-military leader.
The plane’s cockpit is captured sticking out of the fire, as shocked locals walk among the rubble.
Russian state media reports that Prigozhin’s death has been confirmed, although MailOnline cannot independently verify this.
Russian authorities had previously said that ten people had been killed in a business jet crash.
As the news spread around the world, a cheerful-looking Vladimir Putin was enjoying a night out at a concert celebrating the Soviets’ World War II victory at the Battle of Kursk.
Meanwhile, Washington confirmed that President Biden was briefed on the situation.
Prigozhin’s reported death comes just two months after he attempted – and failed – to stage a military coup in Moscow.
It led to a humiliating climb from the 62-year-old Wagner leader, who has grown increasingly cautious since his attempt to overthrow Putin in June.
Wagner’s paramilitary unit was at the center of some of the fiercest battles during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, suffering such heavy casualties that Prigozhin toured Russia’s most dangerous prisons, recruiting thousands of convicted murderers, rapists and other violent offenders.
It was claimed that a video showed the plane flying in the Tver region before crashing to the ground (right)
Social media images are said to show the debris scattered across a field after the crash
The plane, which had Prigozhin listed as a passenger on the flight list, was later reported to have caught fire, as images posted on social media claimed to show the wreckage.
They were offered a salary and a full pardon if they survived six months on the frontline in Ukraine.
However, Prigozhin’s power over the 25,000-strong group was feared across the country, and as relations between him and the Kremlin deteriorated, he became increasingly outspoken in criticizing the president.
He eventually marched on Moscow with thousands of troops, but the coup was called off after negotiations between the two sides brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
It was reported that Prigozhin had been granted amnesty in Belarus, but military experts around the world said his life was in grave danger after his attack on Putin.