29 August 2014 - UNMISS staff today paid their last respects to the three Russian crew members who died when their Mi-8 helicopter came down near the Unity State capital Bentiu on Tuesday.

“It is with a deep sense of shared sadness that we gather today to commemorate the crew of UN flight 537,” said the acting mission chief Toby Lanzer. “I wish to extend my condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those we have lost.”

Captain Andrei Berdnikov aged 50, Flight Engineer Tuktasyn aged 57, and Flight Attendant Alexey Sazontov aged 33 all perished in the crash, which Mr. Lanzer described as “a senseless tragedy”.

In a moving tribute, Oleg Belevikin, Chief Pilot of UTAir Aviation, the company from which the UN contracted the helicopter, said the deceased all had families and children who had been waiting for their return home. He hoped that the families would be able to cope with the loss.

“We have lost people who had plans for a bright future as we all have – people who came here to support peace,” he said. “Nothing will darken their last flight. Bright memories we shall keep about our comrades.”

Also present at the memorial service was 40-year old Co-pilot Alexander Lobkov, who was able to escape the wreckage in time when the aircraft came down.

Expressing “deepest gratitude and respects” to the fallen crew members, Mr. Lanzer stressed that the United Nations is committed to ascertaining the exact circumstances which caused the tragic accident.

“Our teams have started preliminary investigations and will continue to work to ensure that the full details of this horrific event are brought to light, as quickly as possible, but also with the utmost clarity and certainty,” he said.

At a media briefing yesterday, the Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for South Sudan said that for investigative purposes, the UN was treating the crash as a hostile act against the organization.

“We will take no comfort from the findings, but will work tirelessly to ensure that no such incident happens again,” Mr. Lanzer said today.

He commended all other crew members of UN aircrafts and international staff members “who come to work in this country under difficult and dangerous conditions to support the cause of peace”.