Second Mi-8 helicopter goes missing within a week in Russia

A Russian Mi-8 helicopter with six people on board went missing on Sep. 3 in Russia's Irkutsk Oblast, Russian state news agency Ria Novosti reported.

Communication with the helicopter en route from Irkutsk to Orlyk was lost on the border of the Republic of Buryatia and Irkutsk Oblast.

Later in the day, Alexey Tsydenov, the head of the Republic of Buryatia, claimed on his Telegram channel that the Mi-8 made a hard landing on the border of Buryatia, 85 kilometers (52 miles) from the city of Irkutsk.

There were two medics and the crew on board. Two people suffered minor injuries, according to Tsydenov.

The search and rescue operation was ongoing in the region at 11 a.m. local time.

Another Russian Mi-8 helicopter went missing on Aug. 31 with 22 passengers on board in the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East. A day later, the wreckage of a missing Russian helicopter was located, with no survivors found.

Russia's aviation industry has been hit hard by Western sanctions introduced in response to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and multiple incidents involving equipment malfunction on civilian airplanes have been reported.

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