SULAIMANI (ESTA) — A Russian Mi-35 helicopter made an emergency landing due to technical problems during a flight over Syria’s northern Hasakah province, the country’s defense ministry said on Sunday.
“The crew was quickly evacuated to the airfield. There is no threat to lives of the pilots,” Russian state agency RIA quoted the defense ministry as saying.
It further said the helicopter was not fired at, according to Reuters.
“The crew of the Mi-35 helicopter was promptly delivered to the airfield by the search and rescue service. There was no threat to the fliers’ lives,” AP quoted the Russian defense ministry as saying.
Syrian state media reported earlier that there were reports of a Russian helicopter crash in northeastern Syria that killed the pilot.
It said the site of the crash was in Hasaka province, near Tal Tamr close to a Russian base.
Meanwhile, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the helicopter crash-landed near a Russian military post and said the reason for the crash wasn’t clear.
It added that several people on board were wounded, including one critically.
The Russian military has positions in different parts of Syria, including Tel Tamr, where their posts separate Turkey-backed opposition gunmen and U.S.-backed Kurdish-led fighters.
