The Mi-8 was one of three that was flying with troops toward the south of Shatoi where a group of suspected militants had been spotted.
Photo: Rosinform
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18 Killed in Copter Crash in Chechnya
15 Special Forces paratroopers of the Russian Chief Investigation Department and a crew of three were killed in an Mi-8 helicopter crash in Chechnya on Friday in the deadliest military incident in the region this year. There were conflicting reports about whether the helicopter was shot down.
The helicopter came down while flying to southern Chechnya on an operation against militants, an official at the regional branch of the Emergency Situations Ministry said on condition of anonymity. The Mi-8 was one of three that was flying with troops toward the south of Shatoi where a group of suspected militants had been spotted.
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov immediately denied reports that the aircraft may have been shot down. Russian prosecutors, however, said later they are considering all possible causes of the incident, including technical fault, pilot mistake and fire from the ground.
Officials at the Emergency Situations Ministry later called the crash an accident, saying a rotor blade had probably struck the mountain slope during an attempt to land.
The incident has become the largest loss of life for federal troops in Chechnya this year.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Apr. 28, 2007
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