Helicopter carrying nine people and explosives crashes in Siberia

MOSCOW, May 6 (UPI) -- A helicopter carrying nine people and explosives used to blast ice dams in rivers crashed in Siberia's Irkutsk Region, Russia's Emergency Ministry said Monday.

The Mi-8 aircraft, on a mission to monitor floods in the region, had 1.9 tons of explosives aboard, a regional law enforcement official said.

It is unknown if there were any survivors.

Radio contact with the helicopter was lost earlier in the day, the Russian news agency RIA-Novosti reported.

Stanislav Omelyanchik, acting head of the Emergency Services' regional branch, was among the passengers aboard the helicopter.