Wagner Chief Prigozhin On Downed Plane

Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has been confirmed as one of the 10 people aboard an Embraer Legacy business jet that crashed in Russia on Aug. 23. The crash appeared unsurvivable and all the bodies were recovered at the scene, according to the BBC. Prigozhin led a failed mutiny against the Russian armed forces in June but had since returned to Russia after a deal was reached with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Wagner said in a statement that the plane was taken down by Russian "air defenses" on a flight from Moscow to St. Petersburg but offered no evidence of that.

The network said the flight appeared to be normal until 30 seconds before the crash. Video showed the jet, possibly missing a wing, spiraling vertically and flight trackers measured its descent at 8,000 feet per minute. There was smoke and flame coming from the plane and the wreckage was consumed by the post-crash fire. Russian authorities have been uncharacteristically forthcoming with information and have released the names of all 10 aboard. The seven passengers were all Wagner officials, including Prigozhin and his right-hand man Dmitry Utkin.