Two British tourists are among the victims when a light private helicopter has crashed in the Russian north about 150 kilometers east of Murmansk.
The 5-seat Eurocopter EC120 Colibri helicopter was on a scheduled flight to the Lovozersky region in the northeast of the Kola Peninsula, a police source told RIA Novosti news agency.
“According to preliminary reports, the helicopter was attempting to take off as it tilted and ploughed into the ground. Three spectators, who were standing nearby at the moment of impact, were fatally injured,” a source in the Russian aviation regulator told ITAR-TASS.
The pilot reportedly survived the crash.
The Interfax news agency says two of the victims were British while the third was Russian.
The region where the incident happened is a popular tourist destination for fishing enthusiasts, local police said. International travellers frequent the local resorts.
A conflicting report from the local Investigative Committee says the incident was a crash landing rather than a botched take-off and states there were two victims.
An airborne rescue team has been sent to the crash site after the helicopter’s emergency beacon sent a distress signal. Numerous local witnesses reported the crash too.
Another report said the pilot of the helicopter contacted air traffic control earlier in the morning to cancel the flight due to bad weather conditions.
