Six people died on Wednesday when a helicopter operated by a local airline crashed in a city in far eastern Russia, investigators said. The Mi-8 helicopter belonging to Vostok airline crashed in Khabarovsk at 11:30 am local time (0130 GMT), the Investigative Committee, which probes serious incidents, said in a statement.
The helicopter was carrying six crew members. "As a result of the crash, there are no survivors," the regional emergency services ministry said. The city of Khabarovsk is located more than 6,000 kilometres (3,700 miles) east of Moscow and is home to some 600,000 people. Vostok airlines, which operates passenger and cargo flights from Khabarovsk, said the helicopter was in a training flight when it crashed in a ravine around three kilometres from the landing pad and burst into flames. The emergency services ministry posted photos of firefighters hosing charred debris in an overgrown wooded area.
Investigators said the most likely causes of the crash were poor weather, a technical fault or pilot error. They have opened a criminal investigation into possible breaches of air safety rules, and the helicopter's black boxes are being examined.
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