At least 18 people have been killed, including Ukraine’s interior minister and three children, after a helicopter crashed near a kindergarten and a residential building in a Kyiv suburb.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky, his deputy Yevhen Yenin and State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Yurii Lubkovych were among those killed, according to National Police Chief Ihor Klymenko. At least 29 people were injured, including 15 children, officials said.
Images from the scene showed huge flames and a plume of smoke going into the sky in Brovary, which is located northeast of the Ukrainian capital.
Debris was scattered over the ground as several dead bodies were seen draped in foil blankets lying in a courtyard near the damaged nursery.
Anton Geraschenko, an adviser to the ministry, said that investigators are determining the “cause of the tragedy.” He described everyone on the helicopter as “patriots of Ukraine.”
The helicopter that crashed was a Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma, according to media reports.