Five Russian scientists who died in a plane crash on Tuesday had been helping Iran with nuclear secrets, it has been revealed.
They were among 45 killed when the plane’s lights failed in heavy fog and careered into a motorway in north-west Russia before bursting into flames – leading conspiracy theorists to believe it was a deliberate plot to kill the nuclear experts.
Russian security sources confirmed that the dead scientists worked at the controversial Bushehr nuclear plant on the Iranian Persian Gulf.
Due to open this year, the nuclear facility has been worked on since 1975, and has raised international concerns that it may be used to covertly build nuclear weapons for Iran.
But despite the controversial project, Russia still believe that it was poor weather and pilot error that caused the crash rather than foul play.
Among the dead scientists was Andrei Trokinov, one of Russia’s top nuclear technological experts, which will be a huge blow to the Russian and Iranian nuclear industries.
