Four killed in crash of Russian military helicopter

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Four people were killed when a Mi-8 helicopter owned by the Russian Defense Ministry crashed on Monday in the Pskov region of northwest Russia, local news agencies reported, quoting the ministry. TASS said the helicopter was on a training flight when ground control lost contact with it. Accidents involving Mi-8 aircraft are frequent in Russia, which has been criticized for its poor air safety record. In June 2014, 15 people died when a helicopter crashed into a lake in the northern Murmansk region. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)