A Mil Mi-8 helicopter has crashed today in the Siberian region of Tyungur, reportedly killing four people and injuring nine others.
Footage which has surfaced of the accident show the helicopter crashing from a low hover after the tail rotor blades appear to strike an electrical pole during the landing.
The video footage from local source Mash Siberia show the helicopter approach the hover, before drifting sideways towards a row of electrical poles. The tail rotor assembly appears to impact the nearby power pole, causing the subsequent crash.
According to the news source RFE/RL Siberia, the helicopter was on a commercial flight when it crashed on landing in Tyungur in Russia’s Altai Republic.
According to the local news source, the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that four people had died as a result of the crash, with a further nine injured.
Three of the injured are reported to be in a serious condition having suffered fractures and burns.
The Ministry had initially reported six dead however this number was clarified as four after emergency services subsequently discovered that two of those on board had managed to leave the crash site and seek medical attention independently.
The Mil-8 helicopter, which belongs to local operator AltaiAvia, was returning from a flight to Mount Belukha and was carrying 13 passenger and three crew members. The passengers were tourists from Russia and Belarus.
An investigation into the accident will be established, and the news source reports that the Eastern Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee on Transport has announced the commencement of a criminal investigation as a potential violation of traffic safety rules and the operation of air transport.
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