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Five people dead in helicopter crash in Tajikistan

Five people were killed in a Mi-8 helicopter crash landing in the mountains of Tajikistan

© Yuri Smityuk/TASS

MOSCOW, August 13. /TASS/. Five people were killed in a Mi-8 helicopter crash landing in the mountains of Tajikistan, among them three Russian citizens and two members of the crew, who are reported to be Tajik citizens, the Committee for Emergency Situations informed TASS on Monday.

According to the committee, on Sunday, at 16:30 local time (14:30 Moscow time), a Russian Mi-8 helicopter performed a crash landing in the mountains while transporting climbers from base camp to the Ismoili Somoni peak. According to the local media, there were 13 Russian tourists on board, one Belarusian citizen and one Spanish resident, as well as three members of the crew, all citizens of Tajikistan. Tajik President Emomali Rahmon took personal control of the situation. Reportedly, bad weather conditions might have been the cause of the accident.

The Russian, Belarusian and Spanish embassies in Tajikistan have been informed of the accident, as well as the Russian and Belarusian emergency services. A special investigative committee has been formed to investigate the causes of the crash.

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