Helicopter crashes into Ukrainian kindergarten: Search for casualties underway

A Ukrainian government helicopter came down next to a nursery full of children outside Kyiv this morning, with officials saying there have been multiple casualties.

The aircraft came down in the Ukrainian town of Brovary, found to the northeast of the capital, on Wednesday morning. Emergency services rushed to the scene.

‘In the city of Brovary, a helicopter fell near a kindergarten and a residential building,’ the head of the Kyiv regional administration, Oleksiy Kuleba said. He added: ‘there were children and … staff in the nursery at the time of this tragedy. Everyone has now been evacuated. There are casualties.’

A presidential aide said checks were being made on casualties, amid fears that children were still inside the blazing building. Initial reports said there were at least three deaths, and that some children had been evacuated.

Videos shared on social media showed a burning building and people could be heard screaming. The flames were shown to have spread over a large area.

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An aircraft crashed into a building in the Ukrainian town of Brovary near Kyiv on Wednesday, and emergency services rushed to the scene. Videos shared on social media showed a burning building, and said an object resembling a helicopter or drone had crashed into a nursery

Pictured: A body is seen in the middle of a playground outside Ukrainian capital on Wednesday

Emergency workers are seen at the scene after an aircraft crashed into a building near Kyiv

Pictured: Flames are seen near a playground on Wednesday morning in Brovary, near Kyiv

Witness reports said an object resembling a helicopter or drone had crashed down into or near the nursery building.

‘We are finding out information about casualties and the circumstances,’ the deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, wrote on the Telegram messaging app. The reason for the crash was not immediately clear.

One video appeared to show a playground on fire and covered in debris.

Early reports were unclear whether a helicopter or drone had crashed in the residential district, but later it was stated that a helicopter crashed near a kindergarten in Brovary, Kiev Region, said deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko.

He said two people died as a result of the crash and there was fire at the crash site.

In a later updated, Kyrylo Samoilenko, head of the Brovary Department of Kyiv regional police, said three people had died and five had been wounded.

The town of Brovary is located some 12 miles northeast of Kyiv.

Russian and Ukrainian forces fought for control of Brovary in the early stages of Moscow’s invasion until Russia’s troops withdrew in early April. Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops to pro-Western Ukraine on February 24 last year.

There was no immediate comment from Russia, and Ukrainian officials made no reference to any Russian attack in the area at the time.

The crash comes days after a Russian missile struck a residential building in Dnipro on Saturday, killing at least 45 – including six children.

This is a breaking news story. More to follow…