Firefighters had a brush with death when their helicopter plunged to the ground in Russia after experiencing a “sudden loss of speed”.
Nine members suffered serious injuries when the Polar Airlines Mi8 hit a tree and horrifically overturned on the ground.
The 20 firefighters, along with three crew, were on their way to bravely tackle raging forest infernos in some of the world’s most remote locations..
However, everyone miraculously survived the crash after managing to escape.
Dramatic footage shows the crash scene, where the helicopter lies all crumpled up - with the tail torn in half at the site.
It lies within open territory that is usually inhabited by wild brown bears and wolves.
The injured and frightened men had to wait some several hours to be rescued, after the evening crash happened some 250 miles south of regional capital Yakutsk.
Reports say the 31-year-old Russian-made Mi8 suffered a critical loss of speed and crashed into a tree as it went down.
Regional chief Aisen Nikolayev said: “It had to land in impassable taiga.
“At the same time, the pilots showed skill and saved the lives of the crew and passengers.”
Speaking about the poor state of aviation in cash-strapped Russia, Nikolayev added: “The air company’s aviation equipment is outdated, and this applies not only to Yakutia, but also to other [Russian] regions,” he said.
“All the aircraft involved in recent accidents are over 30 years old.”
He warned: “Of course, it is necessary to put out fires, but putting people's health at risk is unacceptable.
“The slightest mistake or human factor can lead to a disaster. People's safety should be above all else.”
It is not immediately clear if the collision with a tree was the cause or a consequence of the accident.
This is the third aviation accident in nine days in Yakutia, Russia’s largest and coldest region.
