At least 16 people, including the Ukrainian interior minister and two children, died on Wednesday after a helicopter crashed near Kyiv, Ukrainian police announced, AFP and Reuters inform, Agerpres reads.

„At the moment we have information on 16 deaths, including two children”, indicated the Ukrainian national police in a statement.

Ukrainian Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky (42 years old), his first deputy Yevheni Yenin (42 years old) and another high-ranking official who were on board the helicopter also lost their lives, Ukrainian police chief Ihor Klimenko said.

Among others, 22 injured, including ten children, were hospitalized, according to the same source. The helicopter crashed in Brovari, a city with about 100,000 inhabitants located east of Kyiv.

„There were children and employees in the kindergarten at the time of this tragedy. Everyone was evacuated. There are victims”, wrote the governor of the Kyiv region, Oleksii Kuleba, on the Telegram application.

The images broadcast on social media show a large-scale fire at the crash site of the aircraft. For now, there is no information regarding the cause of this tragedy.

The helicopter belonged to the Ukrainian Emergency Service, subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior, explained a spokesperson of the Ukrainian Air Force.

Agerpres