MOSCOW (Reuters) -- The governor of Russia's Irkutsk region has been killed in a helicopter crash along with at least three other people, Russian news agencies reported.
Irkutsk Governor Igor Yesipovsky was appointed acting governor in April 2008 by the then president, Vladimir Putin, and made governor in November the same year.
The cause of the May 10 accident was not immediately clear, RIA news agency said.
Irkutsk is more than 5,000 kilometers east of Moscow and covers an area about twice the size of Germany.
The offices of President Dmitry Medvedev and of Putin, now prime minister, expressed condolences to Yesipovsky's family and friends.
"It is distressing to realize that the great plans and dreams that this vivid and talented professional had remain unfulfilled," the prime minister's statement said.
with additional RFE/RL reporting