A HELICOPTER has crashed into a house and exploded into a huge fireball leaving four defence plant workers dead.
Horror footage shows the wreckage of the Ka-226 chopper as it burns before firefighters arrived at the scene desperately trying to extinguish the flames.
The helicopter was carrying senior staff from Kizlyar Electromechanical Plant in Russia on Friday when it crashed and burned.
It smashed into a private house in the village of Achi-Su in southern region of Dagestan with all four people on board “burning to death”.
All three passengers and a pilot were pulled from the wreckage but died from their injuries, Dagestani Health Minister Yaroslav Glazov confirmed.
The Kizlyar Electromechanical Plant is known for making ground control and diagnostic systems and equipment for Sukhoi and MiG attack aircraft but has been sanctioned over the war in Ukraine.
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The aircraft involved reportedly belonged to staff at the Kizlyar Electromechanical Plant, a major military manufacturer known for producing ground control and diagnostic systems for Sukhoi and MiG attack aircraft.
The plant has been sanctioned by Western nations over its role in supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Russian investigators said they are exploring technical malfunction as the most likely cause of the crash.
State news agency TASS reported: “A technical failure is being considered the main version of what caused the incident.”
Rescue teams worked through the night to clear burning debris and recover remains from the scorched site.
Emergency officials confirmed the wreckage was scattered across a large area, complicating recovery efforts.
A local government spokesperson added that “specialists are analysing fragments of the helicopter to determine what went wrong.”
Residents of Achi-Su have been left shaken, with some claiming the helicopter had been “making strange noises” as it circled overhead.
Others said the pilot appeared to deliberately steer away from crowded areas, preventing what could have been an even greater disaster.
Videos from the scene show firefighters battling towering flames, as thick black smoke billowed over the quiet coastal region.
One eyewitness described the aftermath: “The ground shook. The heat was unbearable. We thought it would blow up everything around it.”
Other witnesses described the horror moment the aircraft fell “like a fireball” before erupting in flames.
One resident told local media: “It was circling above us, on fire. Then it just dropped – we thought everyone would die.”
The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency confirmed the deadly incident, calling it a “catastrophe”, though the cause of the crash remains unclear.
The helicopter was flying from Kizlyar to Izberbash on the Caspian coast when it went down.
Early reports suggested the aircraft was being used for tourist flights, but this was later denied by regional officials.
Israfil Israfilov, head of the Dagestan Regional Control Centre, told Russian news agency TASS: “It was not a tourist helicopter.
“There were no tourists on board. Yes, there are fatalities and injuries. The circumstances are being investigated.”
Authorities have not confirmed how many people were on board, but emergency crews were seen pulling bodies from the wreckage as they fought to extinguish the fire.
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The Kremlin has not yet commented on the crash, which is being treated as a major aviation emergency.
Investigators are expected to publish a preliminary report in the coming days as they try to piece together the final moments of the doomed flight.