A Mil Mi-8 helicopter crashed on the Russian Arctic island of Yamal on Sunday, killing the crew commander and injuring 15 passengers, a spokesman for Russian Aviation Committee (Rosaviatsia) said, RIA Novosti reported.
There were 15 passengers and three crewmembers aboard the helicopter. "The passengers received injuries of various degree of gravity while the crew commander was killed," the spokesman said, adding that the fate of the other two crewmembers was unknown.
The Mi-8 helicopter owned by Yamal Airline was delivering geologists from the town of Labytnanga to the Bovanenkovo hydrocarbon field, which Russian energy giant Gazprom is developing, the spokesman said.
The helicopter was landing in the conditions of polar night and was destroyed after hitting the ground. Another helicopter of Yamal Airline has flown to the site of the incident to evacuate people injured in the crash, the spokesman said.
The latest incident with a Mi-8 helicopter occurred on November 25 when it crashed in Russia's Omsk region in southwestern Siberia, killing seven passengers and injuring three crew members. The helicopter was engaged in delivering workers to a drilling site. It fell and caught on fire.
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