Thirteen Killed In Crash Of Military Helicopter In Kazakhstan

An Mi-8 helicopter (file photo)

A Kazakh military helicopter has crashed on a training flight, killing all 13 people on board, the Defense Ministry said.

The ministry said the helicopter went down on March 27 in the Zhalagash region in southern Kazakhstan, east of the Aral Sea.

The Mi-8 helicopter was part of a group of aircraft flying from Aktau on the Caspian Sea to Shymkent near the border with Uzbekistan.

It wasn't immediately clear if there were any survivors, the ministry said, but interim Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev later tweeted that all those aboard had died.

Toqaev said he has ordered an official probe into the reasons for the crash.

With reporting by AP and Interfax