Eye witnesses who recorded the moment a plane, believed to be carrying Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, are heard saying they heard two loud bangs before the jet fell to earth. 

Video evidence shows an aircraft falling from the sky with reports the tail section and one wing were missing as the engines continued to turn despite it hurtling towards the ground.

At the time of reporting, emergency services said eight bodies had been recovered from the wreckage, leaving two unaccounted for. 

Prigozhin was listed as a passenger on the private jet which crashed north of Moscow on Wednesday, the TASS news agency reported, citing Rosaviatsia, Russia's aviation authority.

"An investigation has been launched into the Embraer plane crash that occurred tonight in the Tver region. According to the passenger list, among them is the name and surname of Yevgeny Prigozhin," Rosaviatsia said.

Earlier TASS had reported that 10 people had died after a private jet crashed in Russia's Tver region north of Moscow. The jet, en route from Moscow to St Petersburg, was carrying seven passengers and three crew.

Prigozhin had been a vocal critic of Russia's military commanders throughout the recent months of the Ukraine conflict. He posted videos on social media claiming his mercenary troops had been starved of ammunition and eventually withdrew from the frontline and ordered some of his troops to march on Moscow.

The move was described as 'mutiny' by the Kremlin before the revolt was aborted and Prigozhin agreed to be exiled in Belarus.

The Wagner chief was last seen on August 21 when he posted his first video address since leading the short-lived mutiny in late June, appearing in a social media clip which he suggested was shot in Africa.

In the video, posted on Telegram channels affiliated with the Wagner group, Prigozhin spoke of making Russia greater on all continents and Africa more free.

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