MOSCOW. March 12 (Interfax) - The fate of the Russian helicopter crew remains unknown after their Mil Mi-8 crashed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
"A search operation is underway near the scene. The fate of the four-member crew remains unknown, but given the circumstances of the crash and in the estimate of some experts, the crew had no chance to survive," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.
UTair Airline's Mi-8 helicopter with a Russian crew aboard crashed in South Kivu Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on March 9, reportedly due to poor weather. The crew worked under a contract with the UN Stabilization Mission. The wreckage was discovered in the mountains.
The Russian embassy in Kinshasa maintains contacts with the UN Mission and with Utair's representative office," the statement says.