Helicopter crashed in Ukraine: 16 dead, including the interior minister and several children!

Ukraine's interior minister was among 16 people killed Wednesday after a helicopter crashed in a suburb of the capital Kyiv, setting a daycare full of children on fire.

According to the latest official toll, nine people on board and at least seven on the ground were killed when the French-made Super Puma helicopter went down in Brovary, on the eastern outskirts of Kiev. At least three children are among the victims. Dozens of other people were injured, including many children, who suffered burns.

"I saw injured people, I saw children. It was very foggy here. I heard screams, I ran towards them," Glib, a 17-year-old local, told Reuters.

The wreckage of the crashed helicopter was scattered over a considerable area, including a playground. In a yard lay several dead Home Office employees, their blue uniforms and black boots visible under foil blankets draped over the bodies. A large piece of the helicopter crashed into a car, destroying it.

President Volodymyr Zelenskii said the total number of victims was still being determined and ordered an investigation into the "terrible tragedy".

National Police Chief Ihor Klymenko confirmed that Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi was killed along with his first deputy, Yevheniy Yenin, and other ministry officials flying in the helicopter operated by the state emergency service.

At this time there is no connection between the war and this air tragedy! Ukrainian authorities have started an investigation to determine the causes of this terrible accident. The State Security Service of the SBU said it would consider several possible causes, including a violation of flight rules, a technical malfunction or an intentional act.

"Unfortunately, the sky does not forgive mistakes, as the pilots say, but it is really too early to talk about the causes," said air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat, adding that the investigation could take at least several weeks .