A leading law enforcement official has been killed in a helicopter crash in central Russia.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said three bodies were identified in the Kostroma region crash. It opened a criminal case into safety rule violations that led to the deadly crash. The incident became the second aviation accident this week after a helicopter crashed in Siberia on Monday, killing two passengers.
The Prosecutor General’s Office confirmed to news agencies that deputy prosecutor Saak Karapetyan was among the victims.
“Early indications suggest Saak Albertovich, 58, was among the passengers aboard this helicopter,” the Prosecutor General’s spokesman Alexander Kurennoy was quoted as saying by the state-run TASS news agency.
Initial reports said the Eurocopter AS530 belonged to Heliport Moscow, a three-hectare multifunctional center for storing and servicing helicopters. The company said the single-engine French chopper belonged to an unidentified private company based at the multifunctional center.
Kurennoy denied the regional administration’s claims that the helicopter had been on an unauthorized flight.
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