Baku, February 11 (AZERTAC).  All three crew members were supposedly killed in Azerbaijan when a military helicopter crashed soon after taking off, Azerbaijan defence ministry said in a statement on Monday.

The helicopter owned by the Azerbaijan Defense Ministry’s Military Air Forces withthree on board was flying to Kurdamir region of Azerbaijan (160 km west of Baku) soon crashed into the Caspian Sea.

At 10.30am local time on Monday morning a Mi-8MT helicopter disappeared from the radar screen, crashed near Baku and fell into the sea, the statement says. According to eyewitnesses, they heard an explosion during the crash. 

The details of the accident are being investigated. The rescuers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations are carrying out searches.  Two helicopters and ships of the Emergencies Ministry and one military helicopter are involved in the rescue operation. 

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry released the names and surnames of crew member who died as a result of a helicopter crash near Baku on Monday.

According to the Ministry, Captain Yashar Ahmadov, Senior Lieutenant Rustam Rustamov and Lieutenant Bahruz Zeynalov were on board the helicopter.

As a result of activities carried out by rescuers-divers of Ministry of Emergency Situations, the place of the helicopter crash was ascertained, the ministry reported.

The dead body of Rustam Rustamov has been earlier pulled out of the water. Body of the second crew member Bahruz Zeynalov has also just been recovered from water, and the search continues for a third member of the crew.

The Defense Ministry expressed condolences to the families of the helicopter crash victims.

At present, rescue operations are underway, the Defense Ministry said.

According to preliminary data, the crash was due to poor visibility caused by dense fog. The helicopter fell into the sea at a distance of 250 meters from the shore. Additional entities are involved in the rescue operation. Four ambulances were sent to the scene, the Baku City Ambulance and Emergency Station told media.