Kyiv:  A heart-wrenching incident took place in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv where 18 people including the interior minister were killed during a helicopter crash near a kindergarten, said officials today.

The visuals of the incident have been circulated online. In the video, cries could be heard at the scene which was consumed by fire.

Police Official On Helicopter Crash

Taking notes from the incident, the national police chief Igor Klymenko said that 18 people including Ukraine’s interior minister and other senior ministry officials were killed on Wednesday when a helicopter crashed outside Kyiv in the town of Brovary.

Among the dead are several top officials of the interior ministry including Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky and his first deputy minister, Yevgeniy Yenin, he said.

42 years-old, Monastyrsky was appointed interior minister in 2021.

Ahead of the incident, 22 people were rushed to the hospital including 10 children.

The police official also said that at the time of the crash, children and employees were in the kindergarten. A medical team and police are working at the scene.

Ukrainian diplomat, Andrij Melnyk expressed his grief and condolences on Twitter. He wrote, “When will this dense macabre of death in Ukraine stop? Today I lost my best friend Yevgen Yenin,🇺🇦First Deputy Minister of Interior. He died in a helicopter crash near Kyiv. Like other 17 innocent victims. My❤️condolences to his wife Lyudmyla & their kids. RIP, MY DEAR FRIEND🙏🏻.”

Brovary: Place Of Incident

The helicopter crash took place in the town of Brovary is located some 20 kilometers (12 miles) northeast of Kyiv. Russian and Ukrainian forces fought for control of Brovary in the early stages of Moscow’s invasion until Russia’s troops withdrew in early April.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops to pro-Western Ukraine on February 24 last year.

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