Sixteen people have been killed, including Ukraine’s interior affairs minister, after a helicopter crashed beside a kindergarten in an eastern suburb of the capital Kyiv.
Two children were among the dead and 10 more are being treated in hospital.
The minister, Denys Monastyrsky, was with eight others in the helicopter.
A helicopter has crashed near a kindergarten & residential block east of Kyiv in Brovary, say officials. Police are reporting casualties. pic.twitter.com/OsCxZBxlMZ
— James Waterhouse (@JamWaterhouse) January 18, 2023
His first deputy minister and the state secretary also died, officials said, when the helicopter came down in the suburb of Brovary.
National police chief Ihor Klymenko wrote on Facebook that the helicopter belonged to Ukraine’s state emergency service.
The Office of the President confirmed the information about the falling of a flying object near a kindergarten. pic.twitter.com/Q17clRTZJ7
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) January 18, 2023
After the crash a fire broke out close to the kindergarten and children and staff were moved from the building. Wreckage from the helicopter was visible outside a burning building.
It was dark and foggy at the time of the crash and initial reports suggest the helicopter hit the kindergarten before crashing close to a residential building.
Twenty-two people have been taken to hospital, including the 10 children, Mr Klymenko said.
Terrible footage from the scene of the tragedy in Brovary, Kyiv region. pic.twitter.com/o6VfTuJKcp
— Clash Report (@clashreport) January 18, 2023
source bbc.com
