Kiev, Europe Brief News – Ukraine’s interior minister died in a helicopter crash near a kindergarten outside the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
16 other people were also among the victims, Ukrainian authorities said Wednesday. The cause of the crash is unclear.
The aircraft fell in the town of Brovary, some 20 kilometers northeast of Kyiv, while children and staff were inside the kindergarten, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky, who was onboard the helicopter with other ministry officials, was killed in the crash, Ukrainian national police chief Igor Klymenmo said in a statement on social media.
Fifteen other people were killed, including two children.
Oh… A helicopter crashed near a kindergarten in Brovary, Kyiv region, and a fire broke out. A rescue operation continues, at least 5 wounded. The reason is not reported… pic.twitter.com/sLmxGABr5k
— Iuliia Mendel (@IuliiaMendel) January 18, 2023
At least 22 people, 10 of whom are children, have been hospitalized with injuries.
All students and staff have been evacuated from the building, the head of the Kyiv regional administration, Oleksiy Kuleba, said on his Telegram channel.
Police and medics are working at the scene of the crash, he said.
Images shared by former presidential spokesperson Iuliia Mendel showed a charred rotor and the rest of the helicopter wreckage outside an apartment building entrance.
Another photo showed a person showing no signs of life lying face-down beside a children’s playground.
The crash comes days after a Russian missile hit a residential building in Ukraine’s central-eastern city of Dnipro, killing at least 45 people, including six children.
