Russian Helicopter Crashes in Arctic

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Nando Times

Six killed when Russian helicopter crashes in Arctic

The Associated Press

MOSCOW (January 31, 2001 8:30 a.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - A Russian Mi-8 helicopter crashed in the Arctic on Wednesday, killing all six people aboard, an emergency official said.

The helicopter went down in a remote area of Russia's Chukotka Peninsula near Alaska, about 4,700 miles northeast of Moscow, said Andrei Rulyov, a spokesman for the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

The craft, used by communities in Russia's Arctic region, was carrying three passengers and three crew members when it crashed into the tundra, he said.

More than 12,000 Mi-8 helicopters and its subtypes were produced in the Soviet Union and then Russia since 1961, and many are reaching the limit of their service life. Many crashes are reported each year.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), January 31, 2001


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