Russian Mi-8 Helicopter Crashes at Kyrgyz Airfield

An Mi-8 helicopter has crashed in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, killing one person and injuring seven others, state-run media has reported. It isn't yet clear if the military helicopter belonged to the Russian or Kyrgyz armed forces.

The Soviet-made military helicopter crashed at 10:55 a.m. local time at the Frunze-1 Air Base in the capital, Russian state-run news agency Tass reported on Wednesday, citing a statement by Kyrgyzstan's aviation agency, Kyrgyzaeronavigatsiya.

"One person died and seven were wounded," the statement said.

The Mi-8 was carrying out a routine training flight at the time of the crash, Tass reported.

Newsweek has contacted Russia's Defense Ministry for comment by email.

The last reported crash involving an Mi-8 was in August 2023, when one of the helicopters belonging to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) crashed near the village of Prudny in Russia's Chelyabinsk region, killing three people.

A spokesman for the emergency services told state-run news agency RIA Novosti at the time that the helicopter crashed "during a planned flight," and that three crew members had died.

This is a developing story and will be updated when further information becomes available.

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