Heliport
7th Aug 2004, 08:38
Reuters report Helicopter Crashes in Siberia, Killing 15
Thu Aug 5, 2004 04:33 AM ET
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A helicopter crashed in Russia on Thursday killing all 15 people aboard, and initial reports said it had been on patrol with a contingent of firemen searching for forest fires.
The helicopter, an Mi-8, was carrying 12 passengers and three crew when it crashed in Siberia's oil-rich Tyumen region, two time zones east of Moscow.
"All 15 people are dead," an Emergencies Ministry spokesman said, without identifying them.
Itar-Tass news agency said all the passengers had been firemen. A second helicopter, also on patrol, had witnessed the accident.
It was the latest in a series of disasters involving Mi-8 helicopters both in Russia and abroad. In June an Mi-8 crashed in Sierra Leone, killing 24 people.
Russian-made Mi-8s, designed in the 1960s, are sturdy transport helicopters often used by the military as gunships.
There was no information on what may have caused the crash.
"Communication was lost soon after the helicopter took off," the Emergencies Ministry spokesman said. "It was found 90 km (55 miles) from the village of Raduzhnoye (the place it had taken off from)."
Thu Aug 5, 2004 04:33 AM ET
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A helicopter crashed in Russia on Thursday killing all 15 people aboard, and initial reports said it had been on patrol with a contingent of firemen searching for forest fires.
The helicopter, an Mi-8, was carrying 12 passengers and three crew when it crashed in Siberia's oil-rich Tyumen region, two time zones east of Moscow.
"All 15 people are dead," an Emergencies Ministry spokesman said, without identifying them.
Itar-Tass news agency said all the passengers had been firemen. A second helicopter, also on patrol, had witnessed the accident.
It was the latest in a series of disasters involving Mi-8 helicopters both in Russia and abroad. In June an Mi-8 crashed in Sierra Leone, killing 24 people.
Russian-made Mi-8s, designed in the 1960s, are sturdy transport helicopters often used by the military as gunships.
There was no information on what may have caused the crash.
"Communication was lost soon after the helicopter took off," the Emergencies Ministry spokesman said. "It was found 90 km (55 miles) from the village of Raduzhnoye (the place it had taken off from)."