Military helicopter crash in Azerbaijan
An Mi-17 military helicopter with 18 people on board crashed in the Khyzi region of Azerbaijan, 70 kilometers from Baku. As a result of the incident, 14 people died, including 13 border service officers, two were injured. At this stage, the Prosecutor General’s Office excludes the version of the crash being caused by an external factor.
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On November 30, 2021, at about 10:40 am, an Mi-17 military helicopter crashed at the Garaheybat training ground, located in the Khyzi region of Azerbaijan, 70 kilometers from Baku.
As a result of the accident, 14 people out of 18 on board of the aircraft were killed, two were injured.
13 of the dead were officers of the State Border Service of Azerbaijan. Among them was one colonel, one lieutenant colonel, five majors, four captains, a senior lieutenant, a lieutenant and one civilian.
Two officers were also wounded, they were hospitalized, and their condition is assessed as satisfactory, the state border service reported.
“At present, the assumptions that the causes of the disaster could be the pilot’s negligence, a technical malfunction in the helicopter, weather conditions. All other possible versions are being thoroughly examined.
The scene of the incident was examined by employees of the Prosecutor General’s Office and the State Border Service with the participation of experts in the field of forensic ballistic, forensic fire and forensic medical examinations.
A specialist brought in from the Ministry of Defense is examining the seized “black box” of the helicopter, the message goes on to say.
At the same time, the investigation team, consisting of specialists from the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Military Prosecutor’s Office and the State Border Service, questioned the victims of the helicopter crash.
At present, intensive investigative and operational measures are underway. Additional information will be provided to the public about the course of the investigation”, the press service of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan said.
“At this stage, the investigation rules out the version of the crash being caused by an external interference”, the supervisory authority added.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev expressed condolences to the families of the victims.
This is the largest aircraft crash in the history of the law enforcement agencies of Azerbaijan.
