Eighteen people have been killed in a horrific helicopter crash after its blades hit cargo hanging off another helicopter. The Mi-8 crashed to the ground seconds after takeoff and exploded in an inferno in the Krasnoyarsk region of Russia. Rescuers were unable to get close to the site.
Pictures from the crash scene show the fire where the helicopter crashed. The doomed helicopter, operated by aviation company Utair, was carrying 15 oil workers and three crew. The helicopter’s rotors hit meal pipes which being lifted by another Mi-8, say officials from the site. ‘Utair’s Mi-8 helicopter 25640 was flying from Vankor to Kharkasale,’ said an spokesman for Russia’s emergencies ministry. ‘During takeoff it struck cargo hanging from the landing gear of another Mi-8 helicopter.’
The second helicopter had no passengers on board and managed to land safely. ‘There were three crew members and 15 passengers abroad the Mi-8 that belonged to Utair airline,’ said the ministry. ‘All of them died.’ ‘An Mi-8 with external cargo load and without passengers on board was the first to take off,’ said a source at Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency Rosaviatsiya.
The second helicopter had no passengers on board and managed to land safely.
Source: Metro