Russian attack helicopter crashes in eastern Syria, killing both pilots

Two Russian pilots were killed when their Ka-52 attack helicopter went down during a routine flight over Syrian, says Russian Defense Ministry.

“A Russian Ka-52 helicopter has crashed during a routine flight over eastern regions of the Syrian Arab Republic. Both pilots were killed,” said a statement released by the ministry on Monday.

It added that both pilot's remains have been recovered and returned to their base. It noted that evidence points to machine failure as the reason behind the crash.

A Russian bomber plane was shot down by a Turkish jet along the Syrian border in November 2015, and one of the two pilots was shot and killed from the ground after ejecting.

The downing of the copter marked the deadliest incident on a single mission for the Russian servicemen since Moscow began its air campaign against terrorists in Syria in September 2015. According to official data, 18 Russians have been killed since the air campaign started at the official request of the Damascus government.

SS