Combat helicopter crashes in Moscow: police

MOSCOW: A modern Russian combat helicopter crashed near residential buildings in southeast Moscow on Tuesday, injuring two pilots, officials said.

The Ka-52 helicopter was performing tests near the aircraft plant where it is manufactured and crashed in the trees not far from residential buildings.

The aircraft's two pilots were hospitalised, a police spokesman told AFP, without offering further details. There were no reports of casualties or damage.

Television footage showed plumes of grey smoke rising above the roofs of high-rise residential buildings.

The chopper, dubbed Alligator, will serve as a model for helicopters that are expected to accompany the Mistral-class of amphibious assault ships Russia is now building, according to holding company Russian Helicopters.

In 2011, France inked an agreement to sell four Mistral warships to Moscow, with two to be built in Russia, with the landmark deal becoming the first sale to Russia of sensitive technology by a NATO country. (AFP)