One killed, two injured in Kazakhstan helicopter crash near Russian border

An Mi-8 helicopter, believed to belong to the Ministry of Defence of Kazakhstan, made a hard landing near the village of Saryzhar in the Marktuk district of Aktobe region, approximately 60 km from the Russian border.

The incident resulted in the death of one of the three people on board, according to the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan, Caliber.Az reports citing Russian media.

Two other individuals were injured and were transported by plane to Aktobe regional centre for medical assistance. The incident was reported at 11:40 local time.

The rescue team also reported a fire at the crash site, which was quickly extinguished by emergency personnel who arrived at the scene. The Ministry of Emergency Situations is currently working to clarify further details of the incident.

The Marktuk district of Aktobe borders Russia, with the village of Saryzhar located about 60 kilometres from Orenburg Oblast in Russia.

This comes shortly after a separate incident in late October when an An-2 aircraft made a hard landing in Russia’s Stavropol region. That incident involved five people on board but resulted in no casualties.

Earlier, on August 16, a training exercise at the Fallon Naval Base in Nevada involved two MH-60 Sierra helicopters, resulting in ten US Army servicemen being injured.

By Tamilla Hasanova