Russia insists on urgent investigation into helicopter crash in S. Sudan - Margelov
MOSCOW. Aug 28. (Interfax) - Russia is demanding a prompt and immediate investigation into the crash of the Mi-8 helicopter carrying a Russian crew on a humanitarian mission in South Sudan, Mikhail Margelov, the Russian president's special envoy on cooperation with African countries, told Interfax on Wednesday.
"We demand a prompt and immediate investigation into this disaster. The investigation has just begun, but the probability that the helicopter was shot down exists, and if this is so, it's not the first such case," Margelov said.
Margelov recalled that the Russian crew had been working on a contract with the UN mission in South Sudan. "The crash occurred over the city of Bentiu, control over which went from the South Sudan army to rebels. This disaster reminds us again of the difficulties faced by humanitarian and peacekeeping missions in areas of acute conflict," he said.
"Humanitarian assistance delivered by helicopters and other transport prevents 'scorched earth' tactics. And ground-based peacekeepers prevent military action and shadow operations involving the trade and delivery of weapons and drugs," he said.
As reported earlier, the UN-contracted Mi-8 helicopter of Russia's UTair airline crashed in the vicinity of Bentiu, South Sudan on August 26. The helicopter had a crew of four Russians.
The helicopter hired by the UNMISS was carrying 2.5 tonnes of food from Wau to Rubkona.
The UN Secretariat and the UNMISS said three crewmembers died and the fourth had been taken to a local hospital. His condition is relatively stable.
