No fewer than four persons have been confirmed dead and four others critically injured on Saturday after a plane carrying parachutists crashed in Siberia, Russian authorities said.
Russian authorities confirmed that the L-410 plane carrying 19 people crashed around 10:00 am local time (0300 GMT) during a training flight at the Tanay airfield in the Siberian region of Kemerovo.
The TASS news agency disclosed that the crash was as as a result of the failure of one of the plane engines.
“At the moment, it is known that four people died as a result of the accident. Information about other victims is being specified,” the Investigative Committee said in a statement.
The committee revealed that a probe has been opened immediately into violation of traffic safety rules and the operation of air transport.
The director for the organisation’s Kemerovo region branch, Viktor Shemokhanov, confirmed to TASS that the plane did not have any known issues.
“The plane was making its fourth flight of the day, and was in good condition at the time,” he added.