Helicopter crashes in Belarus

MOSCOW - A chopper crashed during a competition for helicopter tactical sport near Minsk, capital of Belarus, killing its pilot.

The helicopter operated by German pilot Guenther Zimmer was approaching the landing strip at the CIS Open Cup in Helicopter Sport near Minsk, but crashed and started burning, an official of the emergency situations ministry said Sunday.

“A US-made MD-500 helicopter operated by a pilot from Germany fell at the airfield in Borovaya. The pilot died,” Xinhua quoted the official as telling Interfax news agency.