Prosecutors open probe into Total’s CEO death

Paris prosecutors have opened investigation following the death of the chief executive officer of the head of French oil group Total, Christophe de Margerie, in a plane crash in Russia on Monday.
Separately, French accident investigation agency BEA said it would participate in Russia’s Total air crash inquiry, sending three investigators to Moscow later on Tuesday, Reuters reported yesterday
De Margerie was killed when his private jet collided with a snow plough as it was taking off from Moscow’s Vnukovo airport on Monday night.
“Five people were found dead at the scene of the accident, including three crew members, the driver of the snow removal machine and Christophe de Margerie,” Total said in a statement.
“The thoughts of the management and employees of the group go out to Christophe de Margerie’s wife, children and loved ones as well as to the families of the four other victims.”
Reports had earlier emerged the Total chief was killed along with three crew members when the Falcon 50 business jet he was travelling in crashed at Vnukovo airport in Moscow.
Vnukovo airport spokeswoman Elena Krylova confirmed the incident prior to Total’s statement.
“Tonight, a plane crashed when it collided with a snow-clearing machine,” she told Reuters.Three crew members and a passenger died. I can confirm that the passenger was Total’s head de Margerie.”
The plane crashed on the runway and was engulfed in flames, killing everyone on board.
De Margerie joined Total in 1974 and held several positions before becoming president of Total’s Middle East operations in 1995 and the head of the company’s exploration and production division in 2002.
The 63-year old was appointed to the company’s board in 2006 and has served as Total’s chief executive since 2007 and was elected as chairman in 2010.