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Russian chopper ‘with 8 on board’ down at sea – Norway rescue service Russian chopper ‘with 8 on board’ down at sea – Norway rescue service
(about 1 hour later)
Russian helicopter has crashed into the sea off the Arctic island of Svalbard, Norway, according to the Norway rescue service. The helicopter had eight people on board, a statement says. A Russian helicopter has crashed into the sea off the Arctic island of Svalbard, Norway, according to the Norwegian rescue service. The helicopter had eight people on board, the operating company said.
The incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon 2-3 kilometers off Barentsburg, the second-largest settlement on Svalbard Islands. The incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon, 2-3km off Barentsburg, the second-largest settlement on the Svalbard Islands.
It was reported missing at 3:35pm local time and confirmed down at 3:45pm, the rescuers added. There was no information on casualties or helicopter model immediately available. The helicopter was reported missing at 3:35pm local time and confirmed down at 3:45pm, the rescuers added. There was no information on casualties or helicopter model immediately available.
The helicopter was reportedly a Mil Mi-8, but there has been no official confirmation yet. Russian airline Convers Avia later confirmed to RT the missing aircraft was one of its Mil Mi-8MTV (AMT) helicopters. There were eight people aboard the chopper, said Aleksandr Shilov, an adviser to the director general, adding those on board were company employees. The airline lost contact with it at 4:12pm Moscow time, Shilov said.
The helicopter belongs to the Russian airline Convers Avia, TASS cited the company, which confirmed the accident, as saying. “The rescue operation is underway. It remains unknown whether [the helicopter] is on the ground or in the water,” he added.
The chopper was carrying eight passengers, all with “Russian-sounding names,” Reuters reports, quoting the chief coordinator of the rescue operation, Tore Hongset. He stated there were three passengers and five crew members, while the Russian emergency services told TASS there was a crew of three people and five passengers who were miners from Arktikugol coal mining company, adding that their fate remains unknown. Two helicopters and several small boats are searching the area, Reuters quoted the chief coordinator of the rescue operation, Tore Hongset, as saying.
Barentsburg is a small mining settlement on the Arctic Svalbard archipelago, with around 500 inhabitants, predominantly Russian. While the archipelago belongs to Norway, Norway and Russia equally engage in commercial activities on the islands under the 1920 Svalbard Treaty. Dmitry Zhelezyakov, a deputy director general of Convers Avia, told TASS: “We’re not confirming reports it had crashed. There’s currently no connection with it.”
Conflicting reports emerged in the Russian media regarding the number of crew members and passengers on board. Three workers of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute are said to have been aboard the Mi-8, according to the Russian Energy Ministry, cited by TASS.
Earlier the agency said the helicopter was carrying workers from the Arktikugol coal mining company, citing the Russian emergency services. It also was said to be on the company’s lease, according to the Energy Ministry, TASS reports.
The aircraft was on its way from the abandoned Pyramiden settlement, formerly a coal-mining community, to the port of Barentsburg, according to the Twitter account of the Norwegian rescue service.
The Russian Emergencies Ministry is preparing to send more than 20 divers to the scene, as well as aerial drones and Falcon underwater vehicles, TASS quoted the agency’s press service as saying. Bad weather conditions are hindering the rescue efforts, the ministry’s statement says.