MOSCOW, October 21 (RIA Novosti) – The chief of the Russian energy company Lukoil Vagit Alekperov has offered his condolences to the family and friends of Christophe de Margerie killed in an aircraft crash at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport.
"I offer my deepest condolences to the family of de Margerie, to all employees of the concern Total, to all the relatives and friends of the people who died in the crash of the aircraft," Alekperov was quoted as saying in a press release Tuesday.
"The world oil community has suffered a big loss. Death has come to a person whose professionalism, experience, wisdom and ability to see the strategic perspective determined the development plans of oil and gas industry on a global scale," Alekperov stressed.
The head of Lukoil underlined that his deceased colleague saw a huge potential for joint projects between Russia and France.
Alekperov also said that de Margerie set an example of "nobility" always insisting on the principle of fair partnership.
"He was a friend of our company, of our country," Alekperov added in the statement.
Total CEO Christophe de Margerie died in the crash of a Falcon 50 business jet late Monday night at Vnukovo-3 Airport. The incident happened when the aircraft, which was to fly to Paris, hit a snow removal vehicle when taking off. De Margerie was the only passenger on board along with three crew members, also French citizens, who also died in the crash.
It has been reported that a mistake by air traffic control, the actions of the snowplow driver, bad weather conditions and the possibility of pilot error could be among the possible reasons behind the crash.
