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Investigative Committee opens probe into deaths of Russians in Germany plane crash

An airplane en route from Cannes to Egelsbach crashed while coming in for landing on Sunday

MOSCOW, April 1./TASS/. The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case over the crash of a private plane in Germany in which a co-owner of Russia’s second biggest airline S7 was killed, Yelena Markovskaya, a spokesperson for the Moscow interregional transport investigation department of the Russian Investigative Committee, told TASS on Monday.

Natalia Fileva, Chairperson of the S7 Group Board of Directors, and her father died in the plane crash.

The criminal case was opened under Part 3 of Article 263 of the Russian Criminal Code (Violation of traffic safety rules and operation of air transport resulting in the death of two or more persons through negligence), she said.

An EPIC airplane en route from Cannes to Egelsbach crashed while coming in for landing on Sunday. There were two passengers and a pilot on board. According to early data, the victims were Russian nationals - "S7 shareholder Natalia Fileva, her father Valery Karachev and pilot Andrei Dikun," she said.

The investigation will be carried out in accordance with requirements of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation and rules of international law, Markovskaya said.

The Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) is also engaged in the investigation into the reasons behind the crash. It has set up a team of specialists to participate in the probe, who are already working.