A helicopter crash near a Ukrainian nursery has killed 18 people including three children. Amongst the death toll from the tragic incident was Ukraine's Interior Minister, his deputy and the State Secretary, according to police.
Ihor Klymenko, chief of Ukraine's National Police, says nine of those killed were on board the emergency services helicopter which crashed in Brovary. Meanwhile, Kyiv Regional Governor Oleksii Kuleba claims a total of 29 people were injured, including 15 children.
The Mirror reports that the helicopter, said to be a Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma, was flying in fog when it crashed. The aircraft belonged to Ukraine’s emergencies ministry, and the reason for the crash is not immediately clear.
A new video showed the doomed helicopter flying low over trees but apparently without difficulty in “the last seconds” before it crashed. An eyewitness said: “The helicopter made three circles over Fora [a chain of supermarkets in Ukraine], flew into the centre, started descending sharply, hit it, caught fire and that was it.”
Reports say a preliminary cause is “pilot error” but a full probe is underway. Kyiv region governor Oleksiy Kuleba earlier said: "At the time of the tragedy, children and staff of the institution were in the kindergarten. Everyone has now been evacuated. There are casualties."
Following the crash, Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska dabbed teary eyes and pinched her nose minutes before attending a World Economic Forum session in Switzerland. Forum President Borge Brende requested 15 seconds of silence after opening the session to honor the Ukrainian officials killed in the crash.
Elsewhere, paying tribute to Mr Monastyrskyi, the UK Home Secretary said Ukraine lost a "leading light" in its resistance against Vladimir Putin's invasion. Suella Braverman said: "This is truly heart-breaking."
She added: "Interior minister Denys Monastyrsky was a leading light in supporting the Ukrainian people during Putin's illegal invasion and when we spoke in October I was struck by his determination, optimism and patriotism.
"My thoughts go out to all those who have died in this horrible tragedy and their families. The UK will always stand with our Ukrainian friends."
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