Siberia Helicopter Crash Leaves 9 Rosneft Oil Workers, 3 Crew Members Dead

A helicopter crash in a remote Siberian region has killed nine oil workers and three crew members, Russian media reported Thursday.

An Mi-8 helicopter was carrying 25 people (22 passengers and three crew members) from the town of Igarka in the Krasnoyarsk region to the Vankor oil and gas field when it crashed over the frozen Siberian Yenisei River, according to Xinhua.

The Vankor oilfield is operated by state-owned oil company Rosneft through a subsidiary.

"The helicopter of the Turukhan air company with rotation workers onboard crashed after takeoff some 10 kilometers from the town of Igarka. According to preliminary data, nine passengers and three crew members were killed," Oksana Gorbunova of the West Siberian transport prosecution office told TASS.

"Ten people injured in the air crash have been admitted to intensive care units," Gorbunova said, according to EFE. The reason for the crash remains unclear, and an investigation has been launched to find the exact cause of the crash.

The Russian ministry of emergency situation made it clear that the crashed helicopter was not defective. "All the helicopter mechanisms were in good condition. The weather conditions were also favourable," the ministry said, according to The Moscow Times.

Tags

Russia, Siberia, Helicopter Crash