Three climbers, two crew die in Tajikistan helicopter crash

In Tajikistan, three Russian climbers and two Tajik crew members have died in a helicopter hard landing in remote mountainous region.

Emergency services said today, twelve other climbers and a third crew member survived the accident, which took place yesterday, and were evacuated from the site for medical treatment. Authorities said of the 12 surviving climbers, all are Russian except for a



Belarusian and a Spanish national.

The site where the Mi-8 chopper crashed is some 480 kilometres east of the capital Dushanbe in the Pamir range, a key tourist destination. 

Emergency services said the climbers had been climbing the Ismoili Somoni mountain, which was once known as Peak Communism and used to be the highest in the Soviet Union.