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Russian helicopter crashes off Norway's coast

Sources from the Norwegian rescue center told TASS the exact whereabouts of the helicopter are unclear yet

A view of Barentsburg AP PHOTO/SVALBARDPOSTEN/NTB

A view of Barentsburg

© AP PHOTO/SVALBARDPOSTEN/NTB

OSLO, October 26. /TASS/. A Russian helicopter carrying eight has gone down at sea off the island of Spitsbergen several kilometers away from the Russian coalmining community of Barentsburg, according to the Norwegian rescue coordination center Twitter account.

A rescue helicopter and several vessels are heading to the site where a Russian helicopter crashed into the sea off the island of Spitsbergen earlier on Thursday, the Norwegian rescue coordination center has told the Norwegian News Agency.

The rescuers are expected to arrive to the site within minutes.

Et russisk helikopter med 8 personer om bord har gått ned i havet 2-3 km fra Barentsburg. HRS NN koordinerer og vil komme med mer info.
— HRS Nord-Norge (@HRSNordNorge) 26 October 2017

The helicopter was en route from the mothballed community of Pyramiden to Barentsburg. At 15:35 local time the rescue center received a message the helicopter had gone missing. The air incident was confirmed ten minutes later. The Norwegian rescue center’s northern branch is coordinating a search and rescue operation.

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