Four people were killed and four others seriously injured on Saturday after a plane carrying parachutists crashed in Siberia, Russian authorities said.
It said the plane crashed into a nearby forest. It cited local prosecutor office as saying the crew had sent a distress signal about an engine failure.
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 — also known as Kuzbass — authorities said.
The TASS news agency cited the local prosecutor’s office as saying that the failure of one of the plane’s engines caused the crash.
An image published by the Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes in Russia, showed debris strewn across a field with an ambulance parked nearby.
“At the moment it is known that as a result of the accident four people died. Information about other victims is being specified,” the Investigative Committee said in a statement.
The committee said it had opened a probe into violation of traffic safety rules and the operation of air transport.
Kemerovo regional governor Sergei Tsivilyov said on Instagram that of the 19 people on board, four had died, four were in serious condition and the other 11 were injured.
Anton Duzhik, spokesman for the Kuzbass Centre for Disaster Medicine, told AFP that the four people in serious condition had been evacuated by helicopter and were being treated.
He said the 11 others who were injured did not did not suffer anything “demanding” and were examined at the site of the crash.
TASS reported that the Tanay airfield hosts an amateur parachuting centre.
It added that the plane belonged to the Voluntary Society for Assistance to the Army, Aviation and Navy of Russia, which describes itself as a sports and defence organisation.
The director for the organisation’s Kemerovo region branch, Viktor Shemokhanov, told TASS that the plane did not have any known issues.
“The plane was making its fourth flight of the day, and, of course, was in good condition,” he said.