A helicopter carrying oil workers has crashed in northern Russia, killing 19 people.
The Federal Air Transport Agency said that 16 of the 19 passengers on board and all three crew members died in Friday’s crash.
The Mi-8 helicopter was travelling from Vankor to Staryi Urengoi in the Yamalo-Nenets region when it crashed about 28 miles (45 km) north-east of Staryi Urengoi.
Rescuers found the helicopter lying on its side in the tundra. The agency said poor visibility and strong winds could have been factors.
The Mi-8 has been a mainstay of Soviet and Russian aviation since the late 1960s and is widely used worldwide.
A military spokesman said the helicopter “fell on its right side and the victims could not get out”.
Three survivors were flown to hospital.
The helicopter was flying from an oil and gas field in the Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk to the small settlement of Urengoi when the tragedy unfolded.
Governor Dmitry Kobylkin has since called for day of mourning after saying the crash was a source of “great sorrow for us all”.