Ukraine minister, children killed in helicopter crash

(18 Jan 2023) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4415438, 4415429 ASSOCIATED PRESS Kyiv – 18 January 2023 1. Various of helicopter crash site HEADLINE: Ukraine minister, children killed in helicopter crash ANNOTATION: Ukraine's interior minister died in a helicopter crash in an eastern Kyiv suburb that killed more than a dozen other people, including children. 2. Boot on ground 3. Papers and documents on ground ANNOTATION: The minister, Denys Monastyrskyi, oversaw Ukraine’s police and emergency services and is the most senior official to die since Russia's invasion began. 4. Various of helicopter propeller on top of damaged car ANNOTATION: Two others from Monastyrskyi's ministry were also killed. 5. Various of bodies covered with heat-insulating sheet ANNOTATION. There was no immediate word on whether the crash, which happened near a kindergarten, was an accident or a result of the war. 6. Police officers standing with playground in background ANNOTATION: No fighting has been reported recently in the Kyiv area. 7. Various of playground and kindergarten building with damaged windows ANNOTATION: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, called the crash "a terrible tragedy" on a "black morning." STORYLINE: A helicopter carrying Ukraine’s interior minister and other government officials crashed on Wednesday in a residential area near the capital of Kyiv, killing him and about a dozen other people, including a child on the ground, authorities said. Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, who oversaw the country’s police and emergency services, is the most senior official killed since Russia invaded nearly 11 months ago. His death, along with two others from his ministry, was the second calamity in four days for Ukraine, after a Russian missile strike on an apartment building killed dozens of civilians. There was no immediate word on whether the morning crash, near a kindergarten and reportedly in heavy fog, was an accident or related to the war, but Ukrainian authorities immediately opened an investigation. No fighting has been reported recently in the Kyiv area. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said at least 14 people were killed in the crash, including nine aboard the helicopter, and one child on the ground. It said 25 people have been injured, including 11 children. Early official reports gave a different number of casualties, including a higher death toll. Monastyrskyi's deputy Yevhen Yenin and State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Yurii Lubkovych were also among those killed, according to the Ukrainian police officials. Senior officials routinely travel by helicopter during the conflict, often low and at high speed. At the scene of the crash, which was near a kindergarten, at least four bodies on the ground were covered by reflective sheets. Officials cleared chunks of charred, mangled wreckage, lying against an apartment building and in a playground. Some walls were partly demolished and blackened. =========================================================== Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: [email protected]. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...