A Russian helicopter with eight people on board crashed on Thursday into the frigid sea off Svalbard, an Arctic archipelago that belongs to Norway, rescue officials said. The rescue service for northern Norway says the helicopter was en route to Barentsburg, Svalbard's second-largest settlement, from the Russian settlement of Pyramiden. The rescue service said the helicopter went down two to three kilometres from Barentsburg at 3.30 p.m. local time. Several units, including two helicopters from the local Svalbard governor and ships from the coast guard and local fishermen were at the presumed crash site, Bjoergaas said. In March 2008, three people were killed after a Russian Mi-8 helicopter with nine people on board crashed about four kilometres from Barentsburg.

Source: CBC News October 26, 2017 17:59 UTC