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Ukrainian interior ministry helicopter crash caused by pilot error — media outlet

It was also noted that aircraft warning lights on the building were switched off due to power outages

KIEV, January 24. /TASS/. Pilot error amid heavy fog was the cause of the helicopter crash in Brovary in the Kiev region, which killed top officials of the Ukrainian interior ministry, including Minister Denis Monastyrsky, the Strana media outlet reported on Tuesday, citing a source in the ministry.

According to the media outlet, this follows from the preliminary results of the probe. The helicopter was flying too low amid thick fog and the pilot noticed a high-rise building too late, the source said. Having seen the building, the pilot made a sharp turn and the rotorcraft fell down on a nearby kindergarten. It was also noted that aircraft warning lights on the building were switched off due to power outages.

A Ukrainian State Emergency Situations Service helicopter carrying Ukrainian interior ministry top officials crashed into a kindergarten in Brovary, in the Kiev region on January 18. The crash victims included Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky, his first deputy Yevgeny Yenin, and the ministry’s state secretary, Yury Lubkovich. According to the Emergency Situations Service, 14 people, including one child, died, and 25 more people including 11 children were injured. The official cause of the accident has not yet been made public.