MI-8 helicopter crashes in Russia's Siberia; 21 killed, 3 evacuated

[Hindustani78]

Last Updated: Saturday, October 22, 2016 - 08:54

Moscow: Twenty-one people were killed and three others rescued after an MI-8 helicopter crash-landed in Russian Siberia`s Yamal Peninsula on Friday night due to poor weather conditions.

The two black boxes of the ill-fated helicopter were found by rescue teams in Russia`s northwestern Yamalo-Nenets region in Siberia, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Both black boxes have been found - a flight data recorder and a voice recorder. After investigative procedures, they will be sent for decryption," an official from Russia`s Federal Agency for Air Transport (Rosaviatsia) said.

The official also said there were 22 passengers and three crew members aboard when the helicopter made the crash landing. One of the three injured survivors called the emergency department with a mobile phone.

Local emergency department has dispatched the first search and rescue team of 140 people to the site of the accident.

IANS

First Published: Saturday, October 22, 2016 - 08:54

 

[Hindustani78]

Updated: October 22, 2016 17:23 IST

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/mi8-helicopter-crashes-in-siberia/article9254519.ece
A handout picture released by Russia's Emergencies Ministry on Saturday shows rescuers working at the site where a Mi-8 helicopter that was traveling from Vankor to Staryi Urengoi in the Yamalo-Nenets region crashed overnight about 45 kilometers northeast of Staryi Urengoi in northern Russia.. PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The Mi-8 has been a mainstay of Soviet and Russian aviation since the late 1960s and is widely used worldwide.
Russia’s aviation agency says 19 people have died after a helicopter carrying oil workers crashed in Siberia.

The Federal Air Transport Agency says in its statement Saturday that 16 of the 19 passengers on board and all three crew members died in Friday’s crash in northern Russia.

The Mi-8 helicopter was traveling from Vankor to Staryi Urengoi in the Yamalo-Nenets region when it crashed about 45 kilometers (28 miles) northeast of Staryi Urengoi.

Rescuers found the helicopter lying on its side in the tundra. The agency said poor visibility and strong winds could have been factors.

Mainstay since late 1960s

The Mi-8 has been a mainstay of Soviet and Russian aviation since the late 1960s and is widely used worldwide.