KIEV (Reuters) - A small Ukrainian military helicopter crashed in the east of the country on Sunday, killing its two crew members and three passengers, Ukraine’s defense ministry said.

The aircraft, a Soviet-designed Mi-2, crashed near Kramatorsk, the headquarter of Ukrainian government forces that oppose pro-Russian separatists, the ministry said.

The ministry said it is most likely that the Mi-2 had flown into a power line. </s> Ukraine's Defense Ministry said a military helicopter has crashed in the eastern Donbas region, killing 5 people aboard.

The ministry said the crash happened March 26 near Kramatorsk, the headquarters of the military operation against Russia-backed separatists in the eastern part of the country.

Two crew members and three passengers died when the Mi-2 copter crashed after apparently flying into some power lines, the ministry said.

Ukrainian government forces have battled separatists in the east for nearly three years, in a war that has killed more than 9,900 people and displaced hundreds of thousands. </s> An Mi-8 helicopter has crashed in Siberia, killing 18 people, including three crew members, Russian Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov said Saturday.

The accident occurred around 6:20 a.m. Moscow time near the village of Igarka in the remote Krasnoyarsk region, the ministry said in a statement on its official website.

Both a technical malfunction and pilot error are being considered as possible causes of the crash.

Russian media also reported an explosion of both helicopter's fuel tanks.

The helicopter was transporting employees of Vankor company, which is developing oilfields in Siberia, from their workplace to the company's base. </s> Moscow, Aug 4 (IANS) Eighteen people were killed in a Russian helicopter crash on Saturday in East Siberia region, authorities said.

Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said the MI-8 went down at 10.20 a.m., about 180 kilometre from the town of Igarka, in Krasnoyarsk region.

“There were three crew members and 15 passengers abroad the Mi-8 that belonged to Utair airline,” an emergency services official told TASS news agency. The helicopter flew 2 kilometre before it crashed. No one survived.

According to preliminary data, the helicopter collided with the external cargo suspension of another helicopter that took off earlier, before it fell, collapsed and burnt, a statement published by Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency said.

The helicopter with cargo landed safely after the crew dropped the external suspension, it added.

Law enforcers said that all possible versions were under consideration, including a crew error and equipment failure.

A task force was set up to establish the causes and conditions of the catastrophe. The criminal investigators of the Main Directorate of Criminalistics of Russia’s Investigative Committee were sent to the scene, the committee said in a statement.

Both black boxes of the helicopter were found, a source in regional emergency services was quoted by Sputnik news agency as saying, adding that the recorders were in a satisfactory condition.

The Emergencies Ministry was sending over a group of An-74 and Be-200 aircraft and 25 people from regional search and rescue centres to the site of the crash, according to the Krasnoyarsk region branch of the ministry. </s> Moscow: At least eight people were killed in a Mi-8 helicopter crash in south Russia’s Chechnya Republic on Wednesday, authorities said.

The aircraft reportedly belonged to the Border Guard Service, TASS news agency reported.

“According to preliminary information, up to eight people were killed in the incident,” a spokesman for the local emergencies services told the news agency.

“The information on casualties is being verified,” he said. </s> A Mi-8 helicopter crashed in Russia’s region of Chechnya, leaving five people dead, Sputnik reported.

“According to the preliminary data, a special forces’ helicopter crashed, killing at least five people out of nine, being aboard,” a source said.

According to the source, the emergency response group hasn’t reached the scene of the crash yet.

The authorities haven’t commented on the incident yet.

At the same time, Sputnik quotes a medical source at the Russian Emergencies Ministry, two medical brigades have headed to the crash site. </s> Moscow on Saturday said 18 people were killed when a helicopter crashed on its way to an oil station in northern Siberia in the early hours of the morning.

The Russian Transport Ministry said the Mi-8 helicopter carrying three crew members and 15 passengers crashed when it collided with machinery carried by another helicopter soon after take off.

It added that the second helicopter landed safely and that the accident took place in "normal" weather conditions. </s> Istanbul: Thirteen soldiers were killed on Thursday when a helicopter crashed in southeast Turkey after hitting a high-voltage power line, the army said.

The Cougar helicopter crashed shortly after taking off from a base in Sirnak province bordering Iraq, killing all 13 onboard, it said in a statement.

"Our hero comrades in the helicopter fell as martrys,"the army said.

Initial findings showed it was an accident, said the army, adding that an investigation was underway.

Turkey's chief of staff, general Hulusi Akar, travelled to the region to carry out an inspection, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

In a separate statement, the local governor's office said rescue teams had been dispatched to the scene.

In March, seven people, including four Russians, were killed when a privately-owned helicopter crashed in Istanbul after hitting a television tower. </s> Eighteen people are feared killed after an MI-8 helicopter crashed in the Krasnoyarsk region of Siberia , Russia, according to preliminary reports.Russia's emergencies ministry said the MI-8 went down at 10.20 a.m., about 180km from the town of Igarka, the BBC reported.The ministry provided no further details. Russian media quoted sources as saying that three crew members and 15 passengers were killed.The helicopter was operated by the Utair airline, according to an emergency services source cited by TASS, a Russian news agency.The helicopter is thought to have been taking workers to an oil well, when the crash occurred shortly after take-off.Its fuel tanks were said to be full, resulting in an inferno that reportedly completely incinerated the aircraft, express.co.uk reported.The cause of the crash was not immediately known.
A Ukrainian military Mi-2 transport helicopter crashes after hitting a power line near Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, killing all five people aboard.