In Ukraine, as a result of a helicopter crash near a kindergarten, at least 17 people died, including two children and the first minister

Kyiv, Ukraine — Ukraine’s interior minister was among at least 17 people, including two children, killed in a helicopter crash near a kindergarten outside the capital Kyiv, officials said Wednesday.

In a video that appeared online after the incident, screams could be heard at the scene, which was engulfed in flames.

So far, there are no details about the causes of the disaster, as well as whether it was an accident or related to Ukraine’s war against Russia.

The Associated Press quotes the head of the National Police of Ukraine, Ihor Klimenko, who said that among the dead were Minister of Internal Affairs Dzianis Monastyrskyi, his deputy Yevgeny Yenin and State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Yury Lubkovych.

Nine of the dead were on board an emergency services helicopter, AP reports.

Monastyrski, a 42-year-old father of two, was appointed Minister of the Interior in 2021. He is the highest-ranking Ukrainian official who lost his life since then 11 months ago, Russia invaded UkraineReuters news service reports.

22 people were hospitalized, including 10 children.

Officials said there were children and staff at the daycare at the time of the accident.

Medics and police worked at the scene in the town of Brovary, about 12 miles northeast of Kiev.

Russian and Ukrainian forces fought for control of Brovary in the early stages of the Moscow invasion, until Russian forces retreated in early April.

The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, introduced troops into western Ukraine on February 24 of last year.

The crash followed a tragedy that killed 45 people, including six children, a Russian The rocket hit a residential building east of the Dnieper last weekend.