Russia:16 killed after plane crashes near Menzelinsk

In Russia, 16 people are feared dead and seven others injured after an L-410 plane crashed near the town of Menzelinsk in the Republic of Tatarstan of central Russia on Sunday. The ill fated plane carrying 23 people crashed around 9:23 a.m. local time (0623 GMT) during a flight  the  emergencies ministry said on its Telegram channel. "Six people were rescued, 16 were taken out without signs of life," the ministry said. The Ministry said that the plane had 23 people onboard, including a group of parachute jumpers, according to the TASS news agency.. 

Images published by the ministry showed the aircraft broken in half with a severely dented nose. The six survivors were being hospitalised, the local health ministry told the Interfax news agency. According to Interfax, the plane belonged to the Voluntary Society for Assistance to the Army, Aviation and Navy of Russia, which describes itself as a sports and defence organisation. The Czech-built L-410 light aircraft was one of the two planes used by the club, according to its website. 

Russia was notorious for plane  accidents but has improved air traffic safety in recent years with major airlines switching from Soviet aircraft to modern jets. But poor aircraft maintenance and lax safety standards still lead to frequent accidents in far-flung regions involving light aircraft, with occasional large-scale tragedies. Accidents involving ageing planes are common in far-flung regions in Russia,