Russian helicopter accidentally fires rocket at drill spectators

AT LEAST two people were reportedly injured after a Russian helicopter accidentally fired a rocket at bystanders who were watching a military drill.

A video purportedly showing the incident during the Zapad 2017 military exercises, showed the helicopter firing at a man walking near three cars.

The helicopters were chasing a training target when one of them accidentally fired air-to-ground rockets at bystanders, according to regional news website 66.ru, which posted the video.

“[The helicopters] were 500 metres away from the target. They activated the weapon chain, but something malfunctioned, and rockets went down,” a source told 66.ru, adding that two people, “most likely journalists”, were taken to hospital with serious injuries.

The incident reportedly took place at the Luzhski range outside St Petersburg. It remains unclear when it happened, but the 66.ru report suggested it was shortly before President Vladimir Putin visited the range on Monday.

The privately owned RBC news outlet said the incident happened last Saturday, citing an anonymous source close to the Russian defence ministry. It claimed three people were injured, none of them civilians. RBC published another video showing the helicopter firing rockets at a military truck.

Russia’s defence ministry refuted claims that the shot was fired at bystanders who were watching the Zapad exercise, and said the video posted by 66.ru was from another incident.

The ministry said that a helicopter accidentally fired a rocket at a car park, and said that an empty military truck was damaged as a result. Information about “many people heavily injured” is either “deliberate provocation” or “someone’s personal silliness” it said.

The exercises, conducted jointly with Belarus, are said to be Russia’s biggest since the Cold War. It says only 12,700 personnel are taking part, but some western sources claim the number involved is as high as 100,000.