Russia airline co-owner dies in private plane crash

The co-owner of Russia’s second biggest airline died when her private plane crashed in Germany, the firm says.

Natalia Fileva, one of Russia’s richest women and the major shareholder in S7, also known as Siberia Airlines, died when the plane crashed while landing at Egelsbach airport near Frankfurt.

Another passenger and the pilot also died in the crash, German media quoted local authorities as saying.

The cause of the crash has not yet been identified, S7 said.

The private jet was flying from Cannes in France. It disappeared from radars at 13:22 GMT (15:22 local time), according to flight tracker Flightradar24.

Ms Fileva, 55, had wealth valued at $600m (£460m) according to Forbes magazine.

“The S7 Group holding team expresses deepest condolences to the family and significant others,” the company said.

Russian and international authorities would investigate the crash, S7 added.

Meanwhile two other people died when a police vehicle travelling to the scene of the crash collided with another car near the airport. The three police officers in the police car suffered serious injuries, DPA reported.

S7 is the main competitor in Russia to Aeroflot. It has 96 aircraft that fly to 181 cities and towns in 26 countries, the company’s website says.

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BBC