Spokesman: Three pilots from downed An-26 die in Sloviansk

Published June 7, 2014 at 3:42 pm

A pro-Russian militant stands guard in front of the occupied Ukraine Security Service building on April 21, 2014 in Slovyansk, Ukraine. Pro-Russian militants have taken over the building and other government buildings in the city and are demanding independence from Ukraine. Other pro-Russian activists have been occupying government buildings in other eastern Ukraine cities in recent weeks making similar demands. Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP

Photo by AFP

Three pilots from an An-26 plane shot down on Friday have died while rescuing residents of Sloviansk, spokesman for the anti-terrorist operation Vladyslav Selezniov has said.

He said that “three people were rescued, they have already been taken to hospital, two more pilots are being looked for, and a rescue operation is continuing.”

Selezniov recalled that the plane was carrying non-military goods. Separatists shot it down with MANPADS. The An-26 began to fall on residential neighbourhoods of Sloviansk, but the pilots managed to get it away from the city.

Some of the crew managed to jump out of a burning airplane with a parachute.

“At the cost of their lives the crew prevented the threat to residents of Sloviansk,” Selezniov said.

Earlier, the head of the Information Resistance group, Dmytro Tymchuk, reported that the An-26 aircraft was shot down from the newest Russian Verba MANPADS.