KYIV-(MaraviPost)-At least eighteen people, including Ukraine´s interior minister and three children, have died and several injured after in a helicopter slammed down next to the kindergarten and a residential building in Brovary, Ukraine.
The head of Kyiv’s regional military administration, Oleksiy Kuleba, confirmed the death toll in a statement adding that rescue operation is currently underway.
According to the Guardian, the Eurocopter EC225 “Super Puma”, the helicopter was ferrying Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs, and eight others toward frontline regions in eastern Ukraine when the accident happened.
Among the victims were also the first Deputy Minister Yevheniy Yenin and Secretary of State Yuriy Lubkovychis who were in the chopper at the time of the incident.
Other 29 victims, including 15 children, were being treated in hospitals for various degrees of injuries following the tragedy.
The immediate cause of the tragedy is still unknown and meanwhile, an investigation into the Matt has been launched and it will be carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine.
Russian and Ukrainian forces fought for control of Brovary in the early stages of Moscow’s invasion until Russia’s troops withdrew in early April.
The crash came just four days after a Russian missile strike on an apartment building in southeastern Ukraine killed 45 civilians, including six children — the deadliest attack on civilians since the spring.