MOSCOW. March 13 (Interfax) - UTair Airlines (RTS: TMAT) has announced that the search and rescue operation has been finished in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and confirmed that the crew is dead.
"The search operation is over following the crash of UTair's Mil MI-8AMT helicopter in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The helicopter found by rescuers was destroyed and partially burnt. All four crew members were killed," the company said in a press release.
The rescue effort involved more than 40 personnel, including UN and UTair representatives. "The operation proceeded slowly amid torrential rains and difficult terrain. A landing site for a helicopter was cut out in the jungle and a camp was organized for the search and rescue operation. Rescuers had to struggle their way down to the scene on a slope overgrown by the jungle," it said.
The crew members and the air company's liability was insured with Surgutneftegaz (RTS: SNGS). Each crew member was insured against accidents for $40,000.
The helicopter carrying a four-member crew was hired by the UN to perform a flight from Shabunda to Bukau on March 9, 2013. The wreckage was detected from an altitude of about 2,700 meters in the mountains overgrown by the jungle ten miles from Bukau.