Ukrainian interior minister killed in helicopter crash near Kyiv - Reuters

BROVARY, Ukraine, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Fourteen radical including Ukraine's interior curate and a kid were killed erstwhile a chopper crashed successful fog adjacent a nursery extracurricular Kyiv connected Wednesday, successful what President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called a "terrible tragedy".

Several bodies laic connected the crushed of a courtyard, their boots sticking retired from nether blankets, aft the chopper - described by the aerial unit spokesperson arsenic a French Super Puma - slammed into a gathering successful Brovary, northeast of the capital.

The clang caused a ample fire, and an full broadside of the section nursery gathering was charred. The Kyiv region's politician said children and unit had been successful the nursery astatine the clip of the clang soon aft 08:00 (06:00 GMT).

Officials said it was excessively aboriginal to cognize what caused the crash. None spoke of an onslaught by Russian forces waging warfare successful Ukraine.

"We saw wounded people, we saw children. There was a batch of fog here, everything was strewn each around. We could perceive screams, we ran towards them," said Hlib, a 17-year-old section resident.

"We took the children and passed them implicit the fence, distant from the nursery arsenic it was connected fire, particularly the 2nd floor," helium said adjacent the nursery, wherever radical near flowers and brushed toys astatine a tiny makeshift memorial.

The nationalist constabulary main confirmed that Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi had been killed on with his archetypal deputy, Yevheniy Yenin, and the ministry's authorities secretary. Monastyrskyi was 42 and had been interior curate since July 2021.

Hours aft the crash, the authorities named nationalist constabulary main Ihor Klymenko arsenic acting interior minister.

The State Emergency Service enactment the decease toll astatine 14, including the 3 chopper unit and six others connected board. One kid was killed connected the crushed and 11 different children were among 25 injured people, it said. The bureau had earlier reported a higher toll, which it revised down without explanation.

Vitaliy, a 56-year-old resident, said helium saw the chopper autumn rapidly and clang onto the grounds of the nursery successful the centre of a residential courtyard. The debris continued connected its way to a adjacent artifact of flats, helium said.

The chopper wreckage aboriginal laic crumpled by an flat block, rotor blades resting against the entrance.

Above the charred entranceway to the two-storey nursery gathering was a gaping spread respective feet wide.

"There was nary explosion. I thought it was the motor from a rocket oregon thing similar that, thing precise large, astir 10 metres tall," Vitaliy said.

Describing a ample occurrence that past broke out, helium said: "It adjacent became lukewarm successful the country I was in," helium said. "Of people it was scary."

INVESTIGATION LAUNCHED

"Today, a unspeakable calamity occurred successful Brovary, Kyiv region," Zelenskiy said connected the Telegram messaging app. "The symptom is unspeakable."

The SBU State Security Service said it was investigating and considering respective imaginable causes for the crash, including a breach of formation rules, a method malfunction and the intentional demolition of the helicopter.

Two witnesses described seeing an entity hurtling towards the nursery from a northwesterly direction.

"It was astatine astir the tallness of the houses… those nine-storey ones. It was precise low, and I saw reddish colours connected it," 1 pistillate said.

The clang was different stroke to Ukraine, days aft 45 radical were killed successful an flat artifact deed during a Russian rocket onslaught connected the east-central metropolis of Dnipro.

Air unit spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said it could instrumentality astatine slightest respective weeks to analyse the disaster.

British Home Secretary Suella Braverman called Monastyrskyi "a starring airy successful supporting the Ukrainian people" during Russia's penetration and said she was struck by his determination, optimism and patriotism.

Reporting by Max Hunder successful Brovary and Tom Balmforth successful Kyiv; Additional reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Timothy Heritage

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