Image copyright Reuters Image caption The helicopter burst into flames

Eighteen people have died in a Russian helicopter crash in north-western Siberia, officials say.

Russia's emergencies ministry said the MI-8 went down at 10:20 local time (03:20 GMT), about 180km (112 miles) from the town of Igarka, in Krasnoyarsk Territory.

All those on board - three crew members and 15 passengers - were killed.

The helicopter was reportedly taking workers to an oil station. A criminal investigation is under way.

Initial assessments have suggested that the aircraft's blades struck cargo being carried by another helicopter just after take-off. It fell to the ground and burst into flames.

The second helicopter was able to land safely.

Image copyright EPA/HELI.UTAIR.RU Image caption Two MI-8 helicopters belonging to Utair are shown in a company handout photo

A government official, Svetlana Petrenko, said authorities were investigating allegations of negligence and whether safety guidelines had been violated.

Both aircraft belong to Russian national airline Utair.

The helicopter's black box flight recorders have been recovered and appear undamaged, Russian news agency TASS quoted law enforcement agencies as saying.

The Russian Transport Ministry said the incident happened in "normal" weather conditions.</s>MOSCOW HAS SAID 18 people have been killed after a helicopter crashed on its way to an oil station in northern Siberia in the early hours of the morning.

The Russian Transport Ministry said the Mi-8 helicopter carrying three crew members and 15 passengers crashed when it collided with machinery carried by another helicopter soon after take-off.

It added that the second helicopter landed safely and that the accident took place in “normal” weather conditions.

“The first take-off was carried out by a Mi-8 with an external cargo suspension without passengers on board, the second take-off was performed with passengers who were workers on shifts at the oil station,” the ministry said in a statement.

“According to preliminary information, the Mi-8 carrying passengers for reasons unknown collided with the external suspension of the second helicopter after take-off. As a result it fell, was destroyed and burned,” it added.

The helicopter was operated by Russian national airline Utair, which has its head office in Khanty Mansiysk airport in western Siberia.

In a statement issued on its website, Utair said the crash took place at 5.43 (2.43am Irish time) after taking off from a helipad at the Vankor oil and gas field, in the Turuhansk district of the Krasnoyarsk region.

The oil field is operated by Russian national oil company Rosneft through its subsidiary Vankorneft.

Utair said the helicopter was made in Russia in 2010.

It added that the pilot was born in 1985 and was trained at the Omsk Aviation School in southwestern Siberia.

“He flew 5,990 hours, 2,300 of which he was the helicopter commander,” Utair’s statement said.

The airline said it sent its specialists to the site of the crash.

Russia’s transport ministry said it created a commission to investigate the crash and that the vice director of the Federal Air Transport Agency was on his way to the site.

The country’s Investigative Committee said it opened a criminal investigation into the crash.

Accidents involving helicopters and small planes are frequent in Siberia and far eastern Russia, where air transport is commonly used to cover vast distances.

In April, a Mi-8 helicopter crashed in far eastern Russia, killing six people.

In November 2017, six people died when a small plane crash-landed in the Khabarovsk region.

In 2016, 19 people died when a Mi-8 helicopter carrying oil and gas field workers crashed in a remote area of Siberia.</s>A Russian commercial helicopter flying from the Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk crashed shortly after take-off, killing 18 people aboard on Saturday.

The helicopter, operated by Utair airline, was carrying 15 passengers and three crew members and all were confirmed dead, the Russian news agency TASS quoted an emergency service source as saying.

The transport ministry said the Mi-8 helicopter, reportedly taking workers to an oilfield, went down when it collided with machinery carried by another helicopter soon after take-off.

The second aircraft landed safely and the accident took place in "normal" weather conditions, according to preliminary findings.

"After take-off, according to early reports, the Mi-8 carrying passengers knocked into the external cargo of the other helicopter, for reasons unknown. As a result it fell, broke apart and caught fire," aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said.

A criminal investigation was launched into possible neglect of aircraft safety guidelines.

The helicopters' black boxes were recovered, appear undamaged, and will be sent to Moscow as part of the investigation, TASS reported.</s>A Russian helicopter has crashed in Siberia, with reports saying at least 18 people were killed.

Russia's Emergencies Ministry said the MI-8 helicopter went down around 10 a.m. local time on August 4 about 180 kilometers from the town of Igarka.

The ministry provided no further details.

Russian media quoted sources as saying that three crew members and 15 passengers were killed.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known.

Based on reporting by TASS and BBC</s>Moscow on Saturday said 18 people died when a helicopter crashed on its way to an oil station in northern Siberia in the early hours of the morning.

The Russian Transport Ministry said the Mi-8 helicopter carrying three crew members and 15 passengers crashed when it collided with machinery carried by another helicopter soon after take-off.

It said the second helicopter landed safely and the accident took place in “normal” weather.

“The first take-off was carried out by an Mi-8 with an external cargo suspension without passengers on board, the second take-off was performed with passengers who were workers on shifts at the oil station,” the ministry said. “According to preliminary information, the Mi-8 carrying passengers for reasons unknown collided with the external suspension of the second helicopter after take-off. As a result it fell, was destroyed and burned. Three crew members and 15 passengers died.”

The helicopter was operated by Russian national airline Utair, which has its head office in Khanty Mansiysk airport in western Siberia.

Utair said the crash took place at 5.43am Moscow time after taking off from a helipad at the Vankor oil and gas field, in the Turuhansk district of the Krasnoyarsk region.

The oilfield is operated by Russian national oil company Rosneft through its subsidiary Vankorneft.

Utair said the helicopter was made in Russia in 2010.

It said the pilot was born in 1985 and was trained at the Omsk Aviation School in southwestern Siberia.

“He flew 5,990 hours, 2,300 of which he was the helicopter commander,” Utair said.

The airline said it sent its specialists to the site of the crash.

Russia’s transport ministry said it created a commission to investigate the crash and the vice-director of the Federal Air Transport Agency was on his way to the site.

The country’s Investigative Committee said it opened a criminal investigation into the crash.</s>MOSCOW: Eighteen people were killed in a helicopter crash in the Krasnoyarsk region in Siberia on Saturday, the aviation watchdog and emergency services said.

The passengers, workers heading to their shift at an oil-pumping station, and three crew members died when the Russian-made Mi-8 aircraft knocked into the cargo of an adjacent helicopter as both were completing take-off, watchdog Rosaviatsia said.

The incident occurred in the Vankor Field area in eastern Siberia, the watchdog said, at around 7.30am on Saturday. Vankor is the region’s largest oil field, operated by Russian oil company Rosneft.

“A Mi-8 helicopter which was carrying external suspended cargo and no passengers completed take-off first. Second to take off was a Mi-8 helicopter carrying passengers,” the watchdog said.

“After take-off, according to early reports, the Mi-8 carrying passengers knocked into the external cargo of the other helicopter, for reasons unknown. As a result it fell, broke apart and caught fire,” the watchdog said, adding weather conditions were normal.

A commission has been set up to investigate the crash.

The helicopters’ black boxes have been recovered, appear undamaged and will be sent to Moscow as part of the investigation, TASS news agency said, citing law enforcement agencies.

The other helicopter landed safely after the incident. The two aircraft were owned by UTair-Helicopter Services, a unit of Russian airline UTair.

In Russia, the helicopter operator predominantly works with oil and gas companies, transporting people and cargo for clients including Gazprom, Shell and Rosneft. It also works around the world on United Nations contracts, according to the company’s website.</s>Moscow, Aug 4 (IANS) Eighteen people were killed in a Russian helicopter crash on Saturday in East Siberia region, authorities said.

Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said the MI-8 went down at 10.20 a.m., about 180 kilometre from the town of Igarka, in Krasnoyarsk region.

“There were three crew members and 15 passengers abroad the Mi-8 that belonged to Utair airline,” an emergency services official told TASS news agency. The helicopter flew 2 kilometre before it crashed. No one survived.

According to preliminary data, the helicopter collided with the external cargo suspension of another helicopter that took off earlier, before it fell, collapsed and burnt, a statement published by Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency said.

The helicopter with cargo landed safely after the crew dropped the external suspension, it added.

Law enforcers said that all possible versions were under consideration, including a crew error and equipment failure.

A task force was set up to establish the causes and conditions of the catastrophe. The criminal investigators of the Main Directorate of Criminalistics of Russia’s Investigative Committee were sent to the scene, the committee said in a statement.

Both black boxes of the helicopter were found, a source in regional emergency services was quoted by Sputnik news agency as saying, adding that the recorders were in a satisfactory condition.

The Emergencies Ministry was sending over a group of An-74 and Be-200 aircraft and 25 people from regional search and rescue centres to the site of the crash, according to the Krasnoyarsk region branch of the ministry.</s>An Mi-8 helicopter has crashed in Siberia, killing 18 people, including three crew members, Russian Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov said Saturday.

The accident occurred around 6:20 a.m. Moscow time near the village of Igarka in the remote Krasnoyarsk region, the ministry said in a statement on its official website.

Both a technical malfunction and pilot error are being considered as possible causes of the crash.

Russian media also reported an explosion of both helicopter's fuel tanks.

The helicopter was transporting employees of Vankor company, which is developing oilfields in Siberia, from their workplace to the company's base.</s>Moscow on Saturday said 18 people were killed when a helicopter crashed on its way to an oil station in northern Siberia in the early hours of the morning.

The Russian Transport Ministry said the Mi-8 helicopter carrying three crew members and 15 passengers crashed when it collided with machinery carried by another helicopter soon after take off.

It added that the second helicopter landed safely and that the accident took place in "normal" weather conditions.</s>Eighteen people are feared killed after an MI-8 helicopter crashed in the Krasnoyarsk region of Siberia , Russia, according to preliminary reports.Russia's emergencies ministry said the MI-8 went down at 10.20 a.m., about 180km from the town of Igarka, the BBC reported.The ministry provided no further details. Russian media quoted sources as saying that three crew members and 15 passengers were killed.The helicopter was operated by the Utair airline, according to an emergency services source cited by TASS, a Russian news agency.The helicopter is thought to have been taking workers to an oil well, when the crash occurred shortly after take-off.Its fuel tanks were said to be full, resulting in an inferno that reportedly completely incinerated the aircraft, express.co.uk reported.The cause of the crash was not immediately known.
An MI-8 helicopter belonging to Russian company Utair crashes in Siberia, killing 18 people.