Midair collision of copter, seaplane kills 9 near Moscow

Nine people have been killed in a midair collision between a helicopter and a seaplane over the Istrinskoye Reservoir near the Russian capital, Moscow, local authorities say.

Rescue workers at the scene of the crash on Sunday said there were no survivors in the deadly incident.

Search teams have so far recovered eight bodies and were still looking for the ninth, local media outlets reported.

"We confirm that so far the bodies of eight dead have been found," said the deputy governor of the Moscow region as cited by the Interfax news agency.

Three of those killed in the crash were young children, according to Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations.

The privately owned Cessna seaplane and the Robinson R44 helicopter collided over the reservoir, located about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Moscow, late Saturday and crashed into the water, the Russian ministry added.

It said the helicopter, which was on a leisure trip over the reservoir that is popular for water sports, had three passengers in addition to the pilot on board, while the private aircraft had four passengers and the pilot.

Authorities have opened a criminal investigation into possible violations of air-safety regulations.

Meanwhile, a source in the Russian civil aviation agency was cited as saying in a report by local RIA Novosti state news agency that the pilot of the seaplane had not notified the air traffic control about the flight from an aerodrome adjacent to the reservoir.

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