Russia’s emergencies minister has died during a training exercise in the Arctic Circle city of Norilsk after officials said he jumped from a cliff in an apparent rescue attempt, writes The Guardian.

Yevgeny Zinichev, a member of the influential security council and minister of emergency situations since 2018, died “while saving a person’s life in the course of an interdepartmental exercise … in the Arctic zone”, the ministry of emergency situations confirmed in a statement.

Zinichev, a former bodyguard and personal aide to Vladimir Putin, previously served in the Federal Security Service (FSB) and was briefly appointed governor of Kaliningrad region before being nominated to head the ministry of emergency situations.