Russian helicopter reportedly fires on spectators at drills

A Russian military helicopter gunship accidentally fired on spectators during war games in western Russia, injuring several people, according to local reports.

The Russian military acknowledged that a helicopter accidentally fired a rocket during drills, but did not say when and where it happened. It insisted that no one was hurt in the incident.

The video released on the online 66.ru, RBC and Life.ru news portals show a pair of Ka-52 helicopter gunships sweeping low at the Luzhsky range, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of the border with Estonia, during the Zapad (West) 2017 maneuvers. The video showed one of the helicopters firing a rocket that explodes next to a spectator on a parking lot.

66.ru said Tuesday that two people were seriously wounded and two vehicles were destroyed in the incident. It said the accident happened Sunday or Monday, and that the video was provided by an unidentified witness.

Life.ru said the rocket exploded near a crowd of journalists, military experts and foreign military attaches.

— AP

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