'People crying, mothers are looking for their children'. Eyewitnesses on deadly helicopter crash in Brovary

A helicopter crashed near a kindergarten and a residential high-rise building in the city of Brovary at about 8 a.m. on January 18. Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrskyi, his first deputy Yevhenii Yenin, Secretary of State Yuriy Lubkovych and six other people were on their way to one of Ukraine's hotspots. All nine people on board were killed. Five more casualties are known, including a child. hromadske visited the site of the tragedy and talked to witnesses.

"I did not see the helicopter burning while it was flying"

A few streets away from the helicopter crash site, nothing hints at a tragedy. But closer to the residential area, the road is already blocked by the military. The area around the building and the kindergarten have been fenced off with tape, and law enforcement officers are standing at each passage.

People are gathering to watch the rescuers work and discuss what happened. The police are collecting testimonies.

Vasyl works on the construction of a new school near the kindergarten. He came outside when he heard a loud noise, saw the helicopter crash, and was one of the first to go to help – there were children and teachers in the kindergarten when the helicopter crashed.

"It (the helicopter – ed.) tilted to the left side, and then sharply to the right. I thought it was going to crash because there was a building here. In 2-3 seconds it crashed. I didn't see the helicopter burning while it was flying (...) We ran to the kindergarten with the workers. There was fire and smoke. We started taking children from the basement to the building as far away from the school as possible, because there could be explosions. All the children were safe. Parents ran away. Then an ambulance arrived," the man said.

"There was no blast wave. It just fell and that was it"

Svitlana lives in the buildingnear where part of the helicopter crashed. She recalls hearing a growing rumble, and then seeing a flash of light. After that, she heard nothing until the police arrived.

"Our son goes to this kindergarten. Thank God we didn't go out today. But his friend got 10% burns, and the parents took her to the burn center. This is the time when children have breakfast. Other parents say that the teacher managed to take their group out," says Svitlana.

People recall that in the morning there was a heavy fog in the city and it was hard to see anything. Volodymyr was just returning home after taking his daughter to school. He heard something flying and then exploding after a while. He immediately went to the scene of the fire.

"It was smoking. Fire trucks arrived very quickly. There were people screaming. Teenagers sitting on a bench started running away and shouting that a missile had fallen. There was not a single explosive wave. It fell and that was it. There was not even an explosion. Then, about three minutes after it hit, there was a pop (splash)," says a resident of Brovary.

"The neighborhood was silent, deaf, blind and in a fog"

Anna, who also lives in the building near where the helicopter crashed, says that half an hour before the crash, the electricity was turned off in the neighborhood: "The neighborhood was silent, deaf, blind and in fog."

She was on the phone with her mother when she felt the building shaking, so she immediately ran outside. She recalls that her husband goes to work past the entrance that became the scene of the tragedy, but today he changed his route.

"The worst thing is when you run out and a neighbor tells you that it's the kindergarten (...) I was running to the fire, but explosions started, and we were shouting to get out of there. There was fog and smoke. It was unclear what happened to the kindergarten. All the people are crying. Mothers are running to find their children (...) Thank God my 11-year-old son was in another part of the city and didn't hear or see anything, because I would have had to take him to a psychotherapist," Anna said.

Teachers had burnt hair

An aid headquarters was set up in Lyceum No. 10, opposite the kindergarten. Oleksandr, a volunteer with the Pro Dobro Foundation, says that they were compiling lists of the dead and injured. Together with other volunteers, he wrapped the victims in blankets and took them to the doctors. And then he distributed food and drinks to law enforcement officers, rescuers and medics working at the scene.

The headquarters also provided first aid, psychological and medical assistance, warmed the victims and collected their testimonies. Anastasia, a psychologist with the Special Police Regiment, said that about 10-15 people came forward: parents of the children and kindergarten staff who helped with the evacuation.

"There were mostly educators who helped take children out of the building with burnt hair (...) People were in a state of shock, some were given sedatives. Those who needed professional medical care were immediately taken by ambulance," says Anastasia.

Apart from law enforcement officers, the lyceum director did not allow anyone to visit the victims: "The doctors told us: take care of people, they’ve had enough to worry about already.”