Russian helicopter explodes, 14 dead

By YURI BAGROV
Associated Press Writer

VLADIKAVKAZ, Russia (AP) - A Russian military helicopter exploded in flight and crashed in Chechnya yesterday, killing 14 people, including five high-ranking Russian officers.

There were conflicting reports about the cause of the crash, with some officials blaming it on a surface-to-air missile fired by separatists and others saying it appeared to have been an accident.

The Mi-8 helicopter of the Russian Interior Ministry went down shortly before it was to land in the village of Shelkovskaya, northwest of the capital, Grozny, said Yuri Kolodkin, a duty officer at the regional Emergency Situations Ministry.

Everyone on board was killed, including two Interior Ministry generals and three colonels, Kolodkin said.

An official in the Russian forces' Mozdok headquarters said an investigation had been opened, but gave no further information.

Among the officers killed in Sunday's crash were Lt. Gen. Mikhail Rudchenko of the Interior Ministry's southern federal district and Maj. Gen. Nikolai Goridov, deputy commander-in-chief of the Russian Interior Forces.