Christophe de Margerie, the chief executive officer  of French oil giant Total,  killed here in a plane accident in the wee hours of Tuesday at  Moscow's Vnukovo International Airport.

De Margerie and three crew members were killed when the plane they were on collided with a snow-clearing machine at Moscow's Vnukovo International Airport, said an airport spokeswoman."A plane crashed when it collided with a snow-clearing machine. Three crew members and a passenger died. I can confirm that the passenger was Total's head de Margerie," said the spokeswoman Elena Krylova.

Total too confirms the death of its CEO in the plane crash in a statement, but said the accident had left a total of five people dead.The collision occurred during the takeoff of the Dassault Falcon business jet bound for Paris with de Margerie on board on Monday midnight Moscow time, according to the airport.