Twenty killed in helicopter crash

Twenty people have died in a crash of a Ukrainian helicopter MI-8 which struck a Black Sea drilling platform, according to a spokesperson from the Ukrainian oil company Naftogaz.

All 20 people on board, including 17 shift workers and three crew members died.

The accident happened off the Ukrainian coast in the Odessa Gasfield area at around 10.37 am Moscow time (06.37am GMT). According to preliminary reports, the machine’s tail-end became caught on the platform.

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ccording to investigators, the helicopter was reportedly piloted by a trainee under an instructor's supervision.