Russian helicopter crashed at Spitsbergen
Three people died and two were seriously injured when a Russian Mi-8 helicopter on Sunday afternoon crashed at Spitsbergen.
The copter with nine passengers, all workers at the local coal mining company in the Russian town of Barentsburg, was about to land when strong winds threw it towards the hangar walls, NRK reports. Two of the men killed were Russians, one Ukrainian. The two seriously injured people have been brought to the Longyearbyen hospital and are expected to be brought further to the University Hospital of Tromsø. The helicopter is owned by the local Arktikugol mining company Norwegian aviation authorities have sent two representatives to the site. The Mi-8 is the second world’s most-produced helicopter, and is used by over 50 countries.
