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13 killed in military helicopter crash in Kazakhstan
ALMATY, Kazakhstan, March 28, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A military helicopter has
crashed in southwestern Kazakhstan, killing all 13 servicemen on board, the
defence ministry said Thursday.
The crash involving the Russian-made Mi-8 aircraft occurred on Wednesday,
the ministry said in a statement.
“13 servicemen were killed… while performing their military duty,” it
said.
Kazakhstan’s new president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev tweeted that he had
ordered an investigation into the crash.
A Soviet-era workhorse first built in the 1960s, the Mi-8 helicopter is
widely used to transport passengers and supplies to remote sites.
It has been involved in a number of recent accidents. In August last year,
18 people were killed in a crash in Siberia.
The defence ministry said on Thursday that the families of those killed
would receive compensation.
Tokayev became Kazakhstan’s president last week following the shock
resignation of long-ruling 78-year-old strongman Nursultan Nazarbayev, who
has retained key decision-making powers in the Central Asian country of 18
million.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1344 hrs