Earlier it was reported that 18 people died in the accident, but the deputy head of the office of the President of Ukraine, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, later stated that, according to clarified information, the number of dead was 16.
The helicopter “Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma” made in France, in which there were nine people – six officials of the Ministry of the Interior and three crew members – fell next to the kindergarten, catching the building of the kindergarten. Videos shared on social networks show that a fire broke out at the site of the disaster. The adjacent apartment building was also damaged.
The Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Yevhenii Yenin, and the State Secretary of the Ministry, Yuriy Lubkovičs, also lost their lives.
Three of the dead are children.
According to detailed information, 30 injured people, 12 of them children, were taken to hospitals.
The office of the President of Ukraine announced that the helicopter was on its way to one of the “hot spots” on the front line.
On the other hand, the head of police of Kharkiv region, Volodymyrs Tymoshko, announced on the social network “Facebook” that the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs went to Kharkiv region.
The Security Service of Ukraine has started an investigation to find out the reasons for the helicopter crash.
“Currently, we are considering all possible versions of the helicopter crash. The pre-trial investigation has been assigned to the investigators of the Security Service of Ukraine,” said Andriy Kostin, Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
The press service of the Security Service later announced that investigators are looking into several possible versions, including violation of flight rules, technical malfunctions of the helicopter, as well as deliberate actions to destroy the aircraft.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the incident a “terrible tragedy”, while European Council President Charles Michel Monastirsky called him “a great friend of the European Union”.
