<div><b><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was on the passenger list of a jet which crashed in Russia killing all 10 people on board, Russia's civil aviation authority says.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Social media linked to the Wagner mercenary group say his private plane was shot down by Russian air defences.</div><div><br></div><div>Prigozhin died "as a result of actions of traitors to Russia", the Grey Zone Telegram channel posted.</div><div><br></div><div>Prigozhin led an aborted mutiny against Russia's armed forces in June.</div><div><br></div><div>However, some experts in Russia and abroad suggest the revolt was staged, and Prigozhin abandoned his "justice march" on Moscow after direct orders from President Vladimir Putin.</div><div><br></div><div>Wednesday's crash in the Tver region, north-west of the capital Moscow, comes on the same day that senior Russian general Sergei Surovikin was reportedly sacked as air force chief.</div><div><br></div><div>Gen Surovikin was known to have good relations with Prigozhin and had not been seen in public since the mutiny.</div><div><br></div><div>Prigozhin's aircraft - an Embraer-135 (EBM-135BJ) - was flying from Moscow to St Petersburg on Wednesday with seven passengers and three crew, Russia's Rosaviatsia aviation authority said.</div><div><br></div><div>Senior Wagner commander Dmitry Utkin - who founded the group in 2014 - was also on the passenger list, it said.</div><div><br></div><div>The plane is reported to have come down near the village of Kuzhenkino, about half-way between Moscow and St Petersburg.</div><div><br></div><div>One report said the body of Prigozhin, 62, had been found and identified - this has not been officially confirmed.</div><div><br></div><div>All 10 bodies have been recovered, Russia's state-run news agency Interfax said.</div><div><br></div><div>Grey Zone said local residents had heard two bangs before the crash and had seen two vapour trails.</div><div><br></div><div>Tass news agency said the plane had caught fire on hitting the ground.</div><div><br></div><div>The aircraft had been in the air for less than half-an-hour, it added.</div><div><br></div><div>An investigation has been launched into the crash and emergency services are searching the scene.</div><div><br></div><div>At the same time, Grey Zone reported that a second business jet owned by Prigozhin had landed safely in the Moscow region.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The mercenary group has about 25,000 fighters.</div><div><br></div><div>The group has been active in Ukraine, Syria and west Africa, and has gained a reputation for brutality.</div><div><br></div><div>Prigozhin headed the mutiny on 23-24 June, moving his troops from Ukraine, seizing the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, and threatening to march on Moscow.</div><div><br></div><div>The move came after months of tension with Russian military commanders over the invasion of Ukraine launched by President Putin in 2014.</div><div><br></div><div>The stand-off seemed to have been settled by a deal which allowed Wagner troops to move to Belarus or join the Russian army. According to BBC reports</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>