Second body recovered from military helicopter crash site in Kazakhstan UPDATED

Another body was recovered on Sunday, August 10, from the site of a military EC-145 helicopter crash.

Specialists retrieved the remains from the bottom of Lake Sorbulak, identifying the victim as the second of three crew members killed in the incident, Caliber.Az reports, citing Kazakh news outlets.

“The procedure of identification is being carried out with the participation of the relevant authorities,” the Ministry of Defence said.

Search operations have been running around the clock, involving all necessary resources from the Defence Ministry, Emergency Situations Ministry, Interior Ministry and other agencies.

On Saturday, August 9, search teams recovered the first victim and fragments of the helicopter.

The EC-145, operated by the Air Defence Forces of Kazakhstan, disappeared from radar on July 25, 2025, in Almaty Region. It had departed from Lugovoye and lost contact in the vicinity of Otar with three crew members on board.

The first wreckage fragments were located on July 26, 2025.

11:33

Kazakhstan's Ministry of Defence has announced that parts of a crashed military aircraft and a human body were found during a search and rescue operation.

The Ministry stated that, as a result of mathematical calculations using satellite data, specialists identified the approximate area where the helicopter might be located, Caliber.Az reports, citing Kazakh media.

“Search teams and specialized equipment were immediately dispatched to that grid. During underwater operations, servicemen of the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan discovered partial fragments of the aircraft and a body at a depth of about 14 meters. The identification procedure is currently underway,” the ministry noted.

The Ministry of Defense reminded that a round-the-clock search and rescue operation has been underway since the first hours after the incident.

The search is complicated by low underwater visibility and muddy sediments, which significantly slow down the work of divers and engineering units. Despite these difficult conditions, all involved forces are acting cohesively and purposefully to complete the operation as soon as possible.

Recall that on July 25, information appeared that search efforts were underway in the Almaty region for the military helicopter EC-145.

By Khagan Isayev