Five people died in helicopter crashes in Ukraine, the Interfax news agency reported Sunday. ( dpa )
The first accident took place as an Mi-2 helicopter was flying between two villages in the southern Crimea province in good weather.
The victims were the pilot aged 55 and a flight engineer aged 69, according to Ukraine's Ministry of Emergency Situations (UMES). The helicopter hit a farm field. Nobody was injured.
The second crash came after a helicopter went down in Ukraine's the mountainous western Ivano-Frankivsk province, killing all three persons on board.
Details of the second downed helicopter were sketchy, with UMES officials describing the chopper as being of German, but otherwise unknown, manufacture. The cause of the crash was not reported.
Aircraft activity in the Ivano-Frankivsk province has been intense over the last week as Ukraine's government has struggled to deal with damage cause by the region's worst floods in a generation.
The Mi-2 in the Crimea crash is a light helicopter manufactured in Poland from 1965 - 1985. The aircraft is operated throughout the former Soviet bloc and though aging generally enjoys a reputation for reliability.
The Simferopol-headquartered company Kiparis, one of the Crimea region's leading conglomerates, had been operating the Mi-2.
Ministry of Transport officials were investigating both incidents.