16 feared dead as plane carrying parachutists crashes in Russia

Of the seven who survived with injuries, at least one person is in a “very serious condition”, health authorities told local media.

At least 16 people are feared dead and seven others injured after an L-410 plane crashed near a near the town of Menzelinsk in the Republic of Tatarstan of central Russia on Sunday, the emergency services were cited as saying by local media. Seven people were pulled alive from the wreckage, officials said. The remaining sixteen are "without signs of life," a representative of the emergency services told the RIA Novosti news agency.

The wreckage of the L-410 plane is seen at the crash site in Tatarstan region of Russia October 10, 2021.(Russia's Emergencies Ministry/Handout via REUTERS)

The Emergencies Ministry said that the plane had 23 people onboard, including a group of parachute jumpers, according to the TASS news agency. 

The local health ministry was quoted by RIA as saying that one of the seven survivors who are in hospital is in "very serious condition".

The aircraft was Let L-410 Turbolet, a twin-engine short-range transport aircraft. Accidents involving ageing planes are common in far-flung regions in Russia, even as its aviation safety standards have improved over the years.

Last month, an Antonov An-26 transport plane crashed in the Russian far east killing six people. Two other L-410 aircraft also suffered fatal accidents in Russia earlier this year.