Four catastrophes have taken place in Chechnya recently with the helicopters of the Russian federal forces. Mi-8 and Mi-24 choppers are one of the most efficient means for the counter-terrorist operation in Chechnya, but they are worn out, they should be repaired very often, and there are no effective measures to control the quality of the defense technology in the republic. The separate accidents have already taken the form of a tendency. The Kremlin admitted that today.
Russian assistant president Sergey Yastrzhembsky stated at the press-conference that there should be conclusions made from the recent tragic events in Chechnya. The technical condition of the Russian defense technology in Chechnya is unsatisfactory. As the assistant president believes, the extra funding of the repairing works could be a way out of the situation.
The reason of Yastrzhembsky’s statement became another crash of the Russian Mi-8 helicopter, which took place yesterday at the army base in Khankala, Chechnya.
The crew of the helicopter was ten people – seven of them died. The technical malfunction in the engine is considered to be the basic version to explain the crash. According to eyewitnesses, the helicopter was spinning in the air. The army headquarters in the area said the crash could not take place because of the pilot’s mistake – the crew of the chopper was very experienced. The pilots lost control over the helicopter most likely.
The assistants of the office of the military prosecutor together with the Office of the Public Prosecutor of Chechnya are investigating the reasons of the crash. The final reasons of the tragedy will be allegedly exposed tonight – after decoding the recorders.
Mi-8 helicopter was searching for the border helicopter Mi-24, which disappeared in Chechnya last Sunday. It has not been found still. Two Mi-8 choppers crashed on January 27 and 29 on their way from the settlement of Khankala to Vedeno. One of them was shot by the gunmen from the ground and went on fire. Another Mi-8 chopper blew up on January 27. As it became known afterwards, the explosion had taken place inside the helicopter.
Sergey Yastrzhembsky stressed at the press-conference that the operation in Chechnya could have come to its end long ago, if a part of the population did not support or help the gunmen. But this is not an excuse for the things we mentioned above, don’t you think?
Sergey Yugov
PRAVDA.Ru
Translated by Dmitry Sudakov
Reuters : Russian Helicopter Crashes in Chechnya, Seven Die
Chicago Tribune : Crash in Chechnya linked to rebels
Los Angeles Times : Russian Helicopter Crash Kills 14 in Chechnya
Russian Top Police Officials Die in Chechnya Crash
BBC : Top Russians die in Chechnya crash
Washington Post : Russians Accused of Abuses in Chechnya
Read the original in Russian: http://pravda.ru/main/2002/02/08/36826.html
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