On Wednesday, January 18, a helicopter crashed beside a nursery in the eastern suburb of Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. The Interior Affairs Minister and three children were among the 18 deceased in the tragic accident.
Ukraine's Interior Affairs minister, Denys Monastyrsky, was accompanied by eight other people in the helicopter. His deputy minister and state secretary are also among the deceased. People on the ground were among those killed, and another 22 people are in the hospital, including 15 children.
Ukraine Helicopter Crash
National police chief Ihor Klymenko wrote on Facebook that the helicopter belonged to Ukraine’s state emergency service.
The head of Kyiv’s regional military administration, Oleksiy Kuleba, said that the tragedy had injured 29 people and killed 18.
A fire broke out following the crash, and according to initial reports, the helicopter hit the nursery before crashing close to the residential building.
Two other senior officials from the interior ministry lost their lives along with the Interior Affairs Minister. Yevgeny Yenin was the first deputy minister, while Yuriy Lubkovich was state secretary.
According to BBC reports, one eyewitness, a teacher at the Brovary Kindergarten, described what she witnessed to a local news outlet. "There was a huge flash. But, before that, there were the sounds of something flying in the air, and we all went quiet. Then, after the flash, we heard an explosion. We laid down and quickly evacuated to a shelter," she said.
As the helicopter came crashing down, some residents filmed the devastating blaze from the windows of their flat.
Speaking to Ukrainian TV, deputy head of the Ukraine presidential office Kyrylo Tymoshenko said the Ukranian Interior Minister was on the way to a war "hot spot" when the helicopter crashed. Ukrainian officials generally fly at low altitudes to avoid enemy missiles, and it was misty this morning. As of now, the cause of the crash remains unknown, and investigators are combing through the scene. A state commission will be set up to investigate the crash and will include aviation specialists.
As per live updates, the helicopter crashed at 8:20 a.m. local time, and the National Emergency Building was also damaged in the subsequent fire. It took the fire crew over an hour to extinguish the fire.
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