Russian politician dies in air crash

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 28-04-02 AT 08:35 AM (GMT)]Former Russian presidential candidate Alexander Lebed has died from injuries sustained in a helicopter crash in Siberia.
The helicopter is said to have hit a power line in poor weather conditions at 0615 local time before crashing near Abakan, about 2,100 miles (3,400km) east of Moscow.

Lebed, elected governor of the huge Krasnoyarsk region in 1998 and a leading former army general, was taken to a nearby hospital with severe injuries but later died.

There were 14 other passengers – including three crew – on board the helicopter. It is not clear how many of them were injured.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent his condolences to Lebed’s family.

A commission to investigate the crash, headed by Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu, has also been set up, Russian news agency Interfax reported.

Lebed, who came third in the Russian presidential election of 1996, was widely credited with ending Russia’s 1994-96 campaign in Chechnya.

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