Military Copter Crash in Russia Kills 19 Aboard
A helicopter crashed minutes after takeoff from a military airfield in northern Russia on Friday, killing 19 airmen, the air force said.
The helicopter was carrying 16 parachutists and three crewmen on a training flight in the region of Levashovo, just north of St. Petersburg, said Yuri Drobyshevsky, a spokesman for the air force. Everyone on board was killed, he said.
The Interfax news agency said the helicopter was an Mi-8 and belonged to the antiaircraft defense forces of the Russian air force. It plunged four minutes after taking off, Drobyshevsky said.
A soldier who witnessed the crash told NTV television that the chopper spun in the air before falling to the ground.
The helicopter burned on the tarmac after the crash.
The parachutists belonged to a team that was to have practiced for joint maneuvers with Canada, the Itar-Tass news agency reported. It said two officers from the Federal Search and Rescue Administration were among those killed in the crash.
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