Twenty killed in helicopter crash

28 Apr, 2008 11:02 / Updated 13 years ago

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