Eighty die when helicopter crashes into minefield

At least 80 Russian servicemen were killed when the world’s biggest helicopter crashed into a minefield in Chechnya today, Russian news agencies reported.

Chechen rebels claimed they shot down the giant Mi-26 helicopter near the Russian military headquarters at Khankala, not far from the capital Grozny.

Russian officials initially insisted there were no deaths and the plane had crash landed after an engine fire.

Later they said there were deaths but they did not know how many, and it was unclear whether the helicopter was shot down or suffered a technical problem.

Sergei Fridinsky, a deputy prosecutor general, said there were dozens of dead and wounded, and Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov, expressed his condolences to relatives of the servicemen who were killed. He did not provide any numbers.

However, the Interfax and ITAR-Tass news agencies reported that at least 80 soldiers were killed, citing sources at the headquarters.

Fridinsky said the flight list indicated there were 127 passengers and five crew members on board the Mi-27, which was flying to Khankala from a base in the neighbouring republic of Ingushetia. He said the helicopter fell into a minefield

That number of passengers would have seriously overloaded the twin engined helicopter. The Mi-26 has capacity for 82 people.

The 108 ft long Mi-26 can carry 20 tons of cargo. The interior is about the same size as a Hercules C-130 military transport aircraft.

Fridinsky said investigators were examining two main possible causes of the crash – that the aircraft, the largest troop transport helicopter in the world, was shot down or suffered a technical problem.

A high-ranking source at the headquarters said authorities believed it was more likely a technical problem, but that nothing was being ruled out.

Colonel Boris Podoprigora, the deputy commander of Russian troops in Chechnya, said all five crew members survived.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an investigation into the cause of the crash.

The crash came amid a spate of rebel actions against federal forces, including attacks late last week in southwestern Chechnya that killed nine servicemen and five civilians.

Some analysts surmised that rebels had intensified their actions to underline to the Russian government that it should enter peace negotiations.