On 14th May two Mi-8s crashed in the Northern Caucasus injuring ten people

Published: 5/19/2000

According to reports from the Ministry of Extraordinary Situations of Kabardino-Balkariya, a Mi-8 helicopter belonging to the Ministry of Interior and carrying Interior Ministry troops was on a flight from Nalchik to Grozny, lost altitude apparently because of engine failure and crashed through transmission lines landing within 80m of a military camp. On crashing, two of the unguided rockets the helicopter was carrying launched hitting the wall of a nearby apartment block resulting in some injuries from broken glass. Among the crew and troops on the helicopter, only two of the 15 were injured, suffering broken legs. Later on the same day, the Federal authorities reported the loss of another Mi-8 in Chechnya after a 'rigid' landing in the area of Dyshne-Vedeno village. The reasons for the crash are currently officially unreported, but local reports have suggested that the helicopter was hit by gunfire while extracting a wounded soldier. The hard landing however, resulted in eight of the soldiers on the helicopter being injured and hospitalised.

Article ID: 1795