Ukrainian cadet jumps from a plane before crash kills 26 passengers - Metro.co.uk

Deputy interior minister calls for an urgent investigation into the crash (Picture: AP)

A Ukrainian army cadet who jumped from a plane before it crashed said it was like being in ‘a video game’.

Despite the explosion, Vyacheslav Zolochevskyi, 20, survived after the Antonov An-26 military aircraft came crashing down. 

Transport plane was carrying 28 passengers, including 21 military students and 7 crew members when a ‘faulty engine’ came off two kilometres from a military airbase

The plane caught on fire and crashed in a ball of flames in the Ukranian town of Chuhuiv at around 8.50pm local time.

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After the explosion, Zolochevskyi tried to help put out the flames after seeing his friend burning. Unfortunately he died as his comrade tried to save him, making him the 25th victim of the crash. 

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Head of Kharkiv administration Oleksiy Kucher, who spoke to the survivor, said he is physically ‘satisfactory’ after losing consciousness at one point. 

The cadet’s mother Irina Zolochevskaya spoke of how she feared he had died.

She said: ‘When I heard about the catastrophe and read it was training flights for cadets, I didn’t know what to do. I was afraid that my son was gone too.’

The horrific crash killed 26 people (Picture: AP)

The remnants of the crash (Picture: Alamy Live News.)

A group photo of the cadets that were on the fateful plane (Picture: AP)

Nikolai Mikitchenko who died today, marking 25 deaths due to the crash (Picture: Social media)

Vyacheslav Zolochevsky, 20, was the sole survivor of the crash (Picture: AFP)

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, declared September 26 a national day of mourning for the victims.    

Deputy Interior Minister said ‘it’s impossible to establish the cause’ of the crash.

An urgent investigation has been commissioned by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, to find the missing passenger on the aircraft and the reason for the crash. 

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibGh0dHBzOi8vbWV0cm8uY28udWsvMjAyMC8wOS8yNi91a3JhaW5pYW4tY2FkZXQtanVtcHMtZnJvbS1hLXBsYW5lLWJlZm9yZS1jcmFzaC1raWxscy0yNi1wYXNzZW5nZXJzLTEzMzMxNDM0L9IBcGh0dHBzOi8vbWV0cm8uY28udWsvMjAyMC8wOS8yNi91a3JhaW5pYW4tY2FkZXQtanVtcHMtZnJvbS1hLXBsYW5lLWJlZm9yZS1jcmFzaC1raWxscy0yNi1wYXNzZW5nZXJzLTEzMzMxNDM0L2FtcC8?oc=5

2020-09-26 20:01:00Z
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