ASTANA, February 8 (RIA Novosti) - A hydraulic system failure has been cited as a possible reason for the crash of an Uzbek helicopter on the border with Kazakhstan that killed one person, the Kazakh emergencies ministry said Thursday.
Two Uzbek helicopters with bodyguards on board were flying along the border between the Central Asian countries February 7 when the tail of one of the aircraft caught fire, after which the helicopter quickly lost altitude and crashed.
"An Mi-24R helicopter belonging to the Republic of Uzbekistan crashed at 2:55 p.m. local time (8:55 a.m. GMT) in the Kazygurt district in southern Kazakhstan, near the town of Kakpak on the border between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. A hydraulic system failure is the presumed reason for the air crash," the ministry said.
According to preliminary information, the helicopter was carrying three people. Two of them used parachutes and survived the crash, and the third died.
