Eleven Die in Ukraine, Russia Helicopter CrashesTwo Soviet-designed military helicopters crashed in Ukraine and Russia on Monday, killing a total of 11 people, military officials in both countries said.Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Kostyantyn Khivrenko said eight people were killed in the Mi-8 military transport helicopter crash which occurred shortly before 10 a.m. near Kherson in the south of the former Soviet state. Another Mi-8 on its way for an overhaul crashed near the Russian city of Ulyanovsk, killing three crew members, according to military officials. Khivrenko said it was the first Mi-8 crash in Ukraine since independence a decade ago. He said the defense ministry had banned all helicopter flights pending a probe into Monday's crash. He said Defense Minister Olexander Kuzmuk had cut short his visit to the United Arab Emirates and was returning to Ukraine. A second defense ministry official, Ihor Khorvinsky, said the helicopter carrying six military pilots and two technicians to the Black Sea port of Odessa crashed seconds after take-off. The aircraft involved in Monday's other crash belonged to Russian forces which patrol the border between the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan and Afghanistan. |
| People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ |