Ukraine’s Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky is among 16 people, including 2 children, who have been killed when a State Emergency Service helicopter crashed in a residential area of Brovary northeast of the capital Kyiv on Wednesday.
The incident, which took place near a kindergarten, reportedly happened due to a pilot error. Initial reports suggest that the helicopter hit the kindergarten before crashing close to a residential building.
Many observers said that the chopper was flying at a low altitude with poor visibility due to fog. An unverified video that has gone viral on social media claims to have captured the last moments of the ill-fated helicopter.
Footage purports to show Ukrainian emergency services Super Puma flying extremely low in poor visibility mere minutes before crash. Reports that helicopter caught on electrical wires before plummeting near kindergarten in #Kiev region, central #Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/QWOFHy2S3V
— +++ (@igandean) January 18, 2023
The crash also killed Monastyrsky’s deputy Yevgeny Yenin and State Secretary Yury Lubkovich. According to the Ukrainian police, 22 injured were taken to hospital, including 10 children.
According to preliminary information the reason for the crash is a pilot error.
Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs Denis Monastyrsky was killed in the crash #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/W3CXsFw0Nc
— Danny Armstrong (@DannyWArmstrong) January 18, 2023
42-year-old Monastyrsky had been Ukraine’s interior minister since July last year.
Several videos showed a building and its adjoining area on fire after the crash.
Horrifying footage from Brovary where a helicopter crashed. Reportedly, 3 people are dead including pilots and 5 are injured pic.twitter.com/HE9nhuWw4n
— Giorgi Revishvili (@revishvilig) January 18, 2023
Both ministers were also believed to be close friends and colleagues.
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