ASTANA, September 8 (RIA Novosti) - Ten people were killed and three others injured in a Mi-8 military helicopter crash in south Kazakhstan on Tuesday, a local emergencies spokesman said.

The helicopter was carrying three officers and seven contract soldiers on a mission to reinforce the border with Uzbekistan near the Ugam gorge, where the Uzbek border guards had reported six armed criminals preparing to cross into Kazakhstan. There were also three crew members onboard.

"The helicopter exploded killing 10 people, with another three people taken to a local hospital," the spokesman said, adding that all those hospitalized in Shymkent were in a moderately grave condition.

Contact was lost with the Kazakh Border Guard helicopter at 08:30 a.m. Moscow time (04:30 GMT).