Nineteen people were killed and three more hospitalized after an Mi-8 helicopter crash-landed on Russia’s Yamal Peninsula in northwestern Siberia, Russian Emergencies Ministry has confirmed.

The first known survivor was evacuated via a helicopter and hospitalized in serious condition, Vadim Grebennikov, the spokesman of the Emergencies Ministry’s Urals regional center told TASS.

Two more people with signs of life were then found on the site and evacuated, while 19 others were pronounced dead.

Two black boxes of the Mi-8 have been found by rescue teams “in good condition,” a source told RIA Novosti.

Reports from the ground say that the helicopter was badly damaged upon landing and fell onto its side, but did not explode.

Earlier, a survivor of the crash reached the rescuers via a cell phone. The man said he was trapped in the wreckage.

Two rescue helicopters with paramedics and emergency workers were dispatched to the site, with a total of 140 people were involved in the operation.

Poor visibility was being reported on the ground.

Reports of the Mi-8 helicopter crash-landing 80 kilometers northwest of the settlement of Urengoy came in late Friday local time. The helicopter, belonging to the Skol air company, was flying to the Suzumskoye oil and gas field in Russia’s Krasnoyarsk region, TASS reported.

(RT)