Russian skydivers killed in crash

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Six parachutists have been killed along with an instructor and their pilot in a plane crash near the Urals city of Chelyabinsk, Russian media report.

There were no survivors when the plane fell in a matter of seconds from a height of 150m (490ft), the regional environmental security minister said.

The Technoavia SM92, a Russian-made sports plane, had flown 400m (yds).

Theories for the crash ranged from pilot error to technical failure and bad weather, prosecutors said.

The plane came down at 1102 local time (0602 GMT) on Sunday, 12km (7 miles) from Chelyabinsk, near the town of Korkino.

It did not appear to catch fire and a photo from the scene on a local news website shows mangled wreckage with the paintwork intact.