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At least four people have lost their lives when a single-engine light helicopter experienced a technical glitch and went down in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug region. Vadim Simonenko, spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations in the region, said the Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil helicopter “suffered heavy damage and it burst into pieces” after the crash.

He added that local security forces have reached the site of the crash, confirming that four people have died. An investigation into the fate of the fifth person on-board is underway.

Initial reports suggest that the aircraft crashed near the town of Kedrovoye. The development came only three days after fifteen people were killed and ten others critically injured when a Mil Mi-8 transport helicopter crashed into the Yenisei River in the Krasnoyarsk Krai region.

There were 25 people on board the helicopter, among them 22 passengers and three crew members. The aircraft was reportedly flying from the town of Igarka to an oil production plant in Krasny Selkub. — PressTV.