Grozny, Russia
A giant military transport helicopter crashed in a minefield in Chechnya this week, killing nearly 100 of the 132 Russian soldiers on board. Witnesses said many soldiers initially survived the crash but were blown up by mines they stepped on after scrambling out of the wreck. Chechen Web sites said a Chechen missile brought the chopper down; the Russian military blamed engine failure. The Kremlin declared the “military phase” of the second Chechen war over last January, but an average of 10 soldiers a day have died in the conflict since then.
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