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Kazan Crash Victims Included British Teacher, Tatarstan Leader's Son

A medic helping a man at Kazan airport, where the Boeing 737 crashed. Yegor Aleev

Among the 50 people killed when a plane crashed at Kazan International Airport on Sunday was a British schoolteacher, the recently married son of Tatarstan's president, and the head of the local branch of the Federal Security Service.

The victims included six crew members and 44 passengers, including 25-year-old Irek Minnikhanov, the son of Tatarstan leader Rustam Minnikhanov, and two young girls, Kazan residents Daria Artashina, 11, and Alina Kashapova, 15.

British citizen Donna Bull, 53, was also on the flight. Bull worked for Bellerbys College in Cambridge as a coordinator of A-level preparation courses and was an education consultant for Russian schools, RIA Novosti reported Monday, citing unspecified Russian education organizations' websites.

She had been traveling to Kazan for a 10-day marketing trip with her colleague, Yana Baranova, who also died in the crash.

James Pitman, a managing director at Study Group, which runs Bellerbys College, offered condolences to the families of both Bull and Baranova in comments to the BBC.

"She was a very popular and well-respected member of staff and will be sorely missed by both her students and colleagues," Pitman said of Bull, adding that Baranova "forged close relationships with Bellerbys staff in Britain in her capacity as recruitment manager and will likewise be sorely missed."

Bull also left behind two children, George and Kate.

Minnikhanov left behind his pregnant wife, Antonia Gishar, a French national who is due to give birth to the pair's child in December, according to Komsomolskaya Pravda.

Minnikhanov had reportedly talked his wife out of flying with him to Moscow, where he was scheduled to hold business negotiations, because she was so far along in her pregnancy.

Also killed in the crash was the regional chief of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, Lieutenant General Alexander Antonov.

Antonov, a graduate of Moscow State University and an FSB veteran, boasted several professional awards, including a "For Services to the Fatherland" medal in 2004, several awards including "For Distinguished Military Service" and many more throughout his professional career. He started his career with the security services in 1984.

Tatarstan leader Rustam Minnikhanov declared Monday a day of mourning, ordering state flags to be lowered throughout the republic, canceling entertainment television programs and instructing his cabinet to prepare suggestions for assisting the bereaved families, Tatarstan's government said in an online statement.

Contact the author at a.quinn@imedia.ru

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