A RELATIVE of Russian president Vladimir Putin has been injured in a hovercraft crash which killed an influential crime boss.
Putin’s pal, a university friend who married the tyrant’s cousin, miraculously survived the bizarre hovercraft accident.
Putin’s cousin’s husband, Viktor Khmarin, swam through icy waters to safety.
Dramatic footage shows the vessel skidding, smashing into ice, and being flipped upside-down.
It is unclear from the video why the hovercraft suddenly lurches and overturns after going under a bridge.
The 76-year-old suffered from exposure after the crash on December 21.
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An extraordinary picture shows a near-naked Putin posing with future relative Khmarin when the pair studied together.
Viktor Averin, 68, second-in-command of the notorious Solntsevskaya crime gang, was killed in the crash.
Four others were onboard the hovercraft as it capsized near a yacht club outside Moscow.
One of the other passengers was an 18-year-old OnlyFans model, who crawled over thin ice to survive, reports say.
Crime boss Averin was the only one to die in the accident, with reports saying that divers were sent to the scene to recover his body.
One victim was reportedly taken to the hospital with head injuries.
Gang leader Averin was known “Aver the Elder” in mafia circles.
Reports say the 68-year-old was at the controls when the hovercraft capsized, but that he did not have a licence to operate the vessel.
One account of the fatal incident said: “A sideways skid occurred as the boat moved onto the ice.
“The ice broke, a pontoon struck it, and the vessel capsized.
“As a result, all passengers ended up in the water.”
Khmarin, the relative of tyrant Putin who survived the attack, married the dictator’s cousin Lyubov Kruglova in 1976.
The couple’s son Viktor Khmarin, 47, is now the influential general-director of Russian energy giant RusHydro.
The nepo baby is often seen in meetings with tyrant uncle Putin.