Chopper Crash in Ukraine Kills 20

KIEV, Ukraine — A helicopter belonging to Ukraine's state gas company crashed yesterday as it tried to land on a Black Sea drilling platform, killing 20 people, officials said.

The Mi-8 helicopter went down around 9:30 a.m. (2:30 a.m. EDT) about 40 miles offshore, a spokesman for the company, Naftogaz, Valentyn Zemlyansky, said. The craft hit a support pole on the rig with its tail then fell onto the rig and caught fire, the Emergency Situations Ministry said.

The ministry said 19 people died at the scene and another died later of injuries.

The passengers were mainly gas company employees headed for the rig.

The Mi-8 is a workhorse helicopter used widely in civilian aviation and by the military in the former Soviet Union. Crashes occur frequently and are often blamed on poor maintenance and excessive age.

Last month, a Ukrainian border guards helicopter also crashed into the Black Sea, killing 12 people.