An aircraft carrying 23 parachutists crashed in central Russia on Sunday, of which at least sixteen passengers are dead.

As per an AFP report, the L-410 plane crashed around 9:23 am local time (0623 GMT) during a flight over the republic of Tatarstan, the emergencies ministry said on its Telegram channel, adding that seven have been rescued from the debris.

The local health ministry said that the seven survivors are in hospital, and one is in "very serious condition", the report said.

Images published by the ministry showed the aircraft which belonged to the Voluntary Society for Assistance to the Army, Aviation, and Navy of Russia was broken in half with a severely dented nose.