Russian prosecutors detain four more suspects in Total CEO plane crash

Russian prosecutors have detained four more Moscow airport workers over a plane crash which killed the CEO of French oil company Total, Christophe de Margerie, the country's Investigative Committee said on Thursday.

The committee has moved quickly to detain those it says might be responsible for the crash, which killed de Margerie and the crew of his private jet in a tragedy which has done little to improve Russia's reputation for poor air safety.

Also read: Russia blames 'negligent' Moscow airport bosses for Total CEO Christophe de Margerie's death in plane crash

But some have accused investigators of jumping to conclusions and trying to find a scapegoat by accusing the driver of the snow plough that hit de Margerie's plane of being drunk. His lawyer denied the allegations.

The committee said in a statement that prosecutors had detained Vladimir Ledenev, the leading airfield service engineer at Moscow's Vnukovo airport, which was overseeing snow clearing works on the night when the plane hit the snow plough.

They had also detained the head of flights at the airport, Roman Dunayev, dispatcher-trainee Svetlana Krivsun as well as Vnukovo's dispatcher Alexander Kruglov.