A Russian Mi-8 helicopter was shot down in Chechnya on Tuesday, killing four people, the Interfax news agency quoted a Russian interior official as saying.
According to preliminary information, the helicopter, belongingto the Interior Ministry, was shot down by Chechen rebels near Russia's main military base in the region of Khankala in Chechnya, said Lt. Gen. Stanislav Kavun, deputy commander of the Interior Ministry forces.
He said the four dead included three crew members and an officer.
Interfax quoted a source in the Khankala headquarters that the helicopter was probably shot down with a portable missile.
Once being hit, the helicopter rotated around its own axis for some time and then fell and exploded, he said.
(Xinhua News Agency October 30, 2002)
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