Four people killed after missile brings down Russian helicopter

ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia -- A Russian helicopter was shot down Tuesday in Chechnya by a missile, killing all three crew and one passenger aboard, an emergency official said.

The Mi-8 helicopter was 100 feet off the ground when it was hit, caught fire and fell in an explosion near Moscow's main military base in the region at Khankala, said Alexander Lemeshev, an official with Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry.

Three crew were aboard along with an officer who was accompanying the cargo, Lemeshev said. The deputy commander of Interior Ministry forces, Stanislav Kavun, told Interfax news agency the craft was shot down while attempting to land.

Chechen rebels have shot down several Russian helicopters during the two wars in the region in the past decade, including one packed with troops in August that left at least 119 people dead.

Russian forces retreated from Chechnya after a 1994-1996 war that left separatists in charge. Putin ordered troops to return in 1999 after attacks on a neighboring region and several deadly apartment bombings blamed on the rebels.