18 July 2005, 16:32
8 die in helicopter crash
The Defense Ministry's Mi 8 helicopter has crashed in Chechnya.
Three crewmen and five passengers, border guards, died in the crash, a spokesman for the Russian Air Force told RIA Novosti. Altogether nine people were in the helicopter.
According to preliminary reports, the Mi 8 helicopter was taking a planned flight from the Tuskhoroy settlement to Khankala. Making an intermediate landing, it run into a mountain near the village of Tesbichi, Chechnya's Itum-Kale district.
"Two main versions are being considered: an equipment failure and fire attack," says Interfax referring to a source at the military prosecutor's office of the Joint Group of Forces in the North Caucasus.
