Twenty killed in Ukraine helicopter crash

A helicopter belonging to Ukraine’s state gas company crashed on Monday as it tried to land on a Black Sea drilling platform, killing 20 people, officials said.

The Mi-8 helicopter went down around 6.30am GMT, about 70km offshore, said Valentyn Zemlyansky, a spokesman for the company, Naftogaz. The craft hit a support pole on the rig with its tail then fell onto the rig and caught fire, the Emergency Situations Ministry said.

The ministry said 19 people died on the spot and another died later of injuries.

The passengers were mainly gas company employees who were headed for the rig.

The Mi-8 is a workhorse helicopter used widely in civilian aviation and the military in the former Soviet Union. Crashes occur frequently and are often blamed on poor maintenance and excessive age.

Last month, a Ukrainian border guards helicopter also crashed into the Black Sea, killing 12 people.