Military

DATE=08/20/12

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-293197

TITLE=RUSSIA / CHECHNYA CRASH (L)

BYLINE=REBECCA SANTANA

DATELINE=MOSCOW

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Russian media are reporting more than 80 soldiers are dead after Monday's helicopter crash in the breakaway Russian region, Chechnya. V-O-A's Rebecca Santana reports from Moscow on what is believed to be the highest single-day loss of life for Russian troops in the second Chechen campaign.

TEXT: The giant M-I-26 helicopter was carrying as many as 132 men when it crashed into a minefield near Khankala -- the main Russian military base in Chechnya.

Boris Podoprigora -- the deputy commander for the Russian forces in the North Caucasus -- told Russia's N-T-V television rescuers worked throughout the night.

///PODOPRIGORA ACTUALITY IN RUSSIAN FADE UNDER///

Mr. Podoprigora says 33 people are in a military hospital at Khankala. He says it is too early to talk about the cause of the crash.

Chechen rebels say they shot down the helicopter with a surface-to-air missile. President Vladimir Putin has appointed a commission to investigate why the helicopter crashed -- including the possibility of mechanical failure.

///PUTIN ACTUALITY IN RUSSIAN FADE UNDER///

The Russian president calls the helicopter crash a catastrophe and says he will fully investigate the incident.

Rescue efforts were hampered because the helicopter crashed in a minefield that surrounds the Khankala base. The minefield was designed to protect the base from incursions by Chechen separatists. Russian television reports parts of the minefield had to be cleared before rescue work could begin.

Russian soldiers have been battling Chechen separatists for control of the region since 1999. Although Moscow says the region is under control, Russian soldiers, separatists and civilians die almost daily, as fighting continues. (signed)

NEB/RS/WD