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Three die in Polish helicopter crash in Belarus

A helicopter of the Polish Border Guard (Straz Graniczna) crashed on the Belarusian side of the border on Saturday evening, killing the three officers on board, BelaPAN said. 

The officers were reportedly making a routine border patrol in the PZL Kania helicopter, which was built in Poland in 2006. At 8:11 p.m., Belarusian authorities were notified by the Polish Border Guard that radio contact with the helicopter had been lost.

The wreckage of the helicopter was discovered at about 4:50 a.m. some 200 yards from the Polish border near the village of Vysokaye in the Kamyanets district, Brest region.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known.

In the morning, the scene was visited by Polish Deputy Interior Minister Adam Rapacki and Jaroslaw Ksiodrzak, the Polish consul general in Brest.

“The pilot had extensive experience of flying this type of helicopter,” said Mr. Rapacki. According to him, a commission has been set up to investigate the cause of the crash. “We’ll work with the Belarusian side, which is also conducting an investigation into the accident,” he added.

The PZL Kania is a significantly redesigned variant of the Russian Mil Mi-2. The changes include a modified fuselage, new engines (Rolls-Royce Allison 250-C20B turboshaft engines), new composite rotors blades, and new avionics.