You're reading: Two Ukrainians captured in Sudan during Mi-8 emergency landing released

Two Ukrainians captured by Sudanese rebels in early August during an emergency landing of the Mi-8 helicopter in Sudan have been released, according to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. 

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sudan confirmed that the crew of the Mi-8, including two citizens of Ukraine, who were carrying out shipments under a contract with the UN mission and who were captured on August 3 this year during an emergency landing, were released last night and are currently in the city of Nyala (Sudan), under the supervision of the Sudanese security forces,” the director of the ministry’s information policy department, Yevhen Perebyinis, said in Kyiv on Wednesday.

According to him, the state of health of Ukrainians is satisfactory.

“This issue remains under special control of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Embassy in Egypt,” Perebyinis said.

As reported, on August 3, rebels captured an Mi-8 helicopter with two Ukrainians one Sudanese national on board. The helicopter made an emergency landing near the city of Nyala, the administrative center of Darfur, when it was on its way back after bringing humanitarian aid to the south of the province.

The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine reported that the crewmembers of the Mi-8 were not sent by Ukraine to participate in the UN mission in that country.

“At the moment, we have established that the said people were not sent by our country to participate in the UN mission in Darfur. According to the available information, they worked as part of a helicopter crew that was carrying out aviation transportation services under the contract with the said UN mission,” said the deputy director of the ministry’s information policy department, Olena Vaschenko.