The balance sheet is heavy. At least 16 people, including the Ukrainian Minister of the Interior and two children, were killed on Wednesday in a helicopter crash on Wednesday near kyiv. “In total, we currently have information on 16 deaths, including two children,” police said in a statement.
Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky, 42, his first deputy Yevgeny Ienin, also 42, and another senior ministry official on board the plane were also killed, according to the first elements transmitted by authorities.
The aircraft crashed near a kindergarten in the town of Brovary, which is located in the eastern suburbs of the capital. “Ambulances, police and firefighters are working at the scene of the accident,” Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Kyrylo Tymoshenko said on Telegram.
In addition, 22 injured including ten children were hospitalized.
Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the Minister of the Interior, expressed on Twitter his sadness and his “deepest condolences” for the families of his “colleagues, friends”.
Very quickly, other senior Ukrainian officials reacted. ” It’s incredible. A terrible tragedy. A huge loss. A loss for his family and Ukraine. A personal loss… Denys Monastyrskyi… My friend… It’s not fair”, wrote on Twitter Ruslan Stefanchuk, close to Volodymyr Zelensky and president of the Rada (the Ukrainian Parliament).
At the time of the tragedy, “children and employees” of the nursery school were on site, said regional governor Oleksiï Kouleba.
According to footage posted on social media, a huge fire broke out after the helicopter fell.
No information on the cause of the tragedy was immediately released.
The aircraft that crashed belonged to the State Service for Emergency Situations under the Interior Ministry, according to a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force.