Moscow: Russia's emergencies ministry says a helicopter has crashed in Siberia, killing nine of the 16 people aboard.
The Mi-8 helicopter was carrying oil workers when it went down today in the petroleum-rich Yamalo-Nenets region of Siberia.
Ministry spokeswoman Natalia Lukash says three crew members and four passengers survived.
The RIA-Novosti news agency says the helicopter belonged to the Russian airline UTAir. It quotes company spokesman Yuri Mushikhin as saying the aircraft was flying to an oil drilling platform.
The twin-engine Mi-8 is a workhorse of Russia s military and civilian air fleets.
