DUSHANBE, February 15, 2012, Asia-Plus  -- Public funeral rites of crew members killed in a chopper crash in Afghanistan was held at the Military Institute of the Ministry of Defense (MoD) in Dushanbe today.

Four officers of Tajikistan’s Air Force – Lieutenant-Colonel Vadim Grudyna, Major Bakhtiyor Jurayev, Senior Lieutenant Azizullo Mansourov and Senior Lieutenant Khoushnoud Amirbekov – were killed in the transport helicopter crash in Afghanistan, an official source at a MoD told Asia-Plus today.

Two officers from the Air Force and Air Defense Force of the Ministry of Defense (MoD) of Tajikistan are currently in Afghanistan to investigate the cause of the helicopter crash that has taken place in southern Afghanistan.

We will recall that a source at a MoD told Asia-Plus on Monday that a Russian-made MI-8 transport helicopter belonging to Air Force of the Ministry of Defence of Tajikistan crashed in Zabul Province on February 11, killing all four onboard.   Those killed are members of the crew; among them is the son of Major-General Vyacheslav Grudyna, Deputy Minister of Defense of Tajikistan.

The helicopter had reportedly operated in Afghanistan since May 2011, shipping humanitarian cargo to Afghan mountain areas difficult of access.

According to some sources, the helicopter crashed due to bad weather.

Last year, two Tajik pilots of the Pamir Air company died in a plane crash in Afghanistan.