A helicopter carrying oil workers has crashed in northern Russia, killing 19 people.

The Federal Air Transport Agency said that 16 of the 19 passengers on board and all three crew members died in Friday's crash.

The Mi-8 helicopter was travelling from Vankor to Staryi Urengoi in the Yamalo-Nenets region when it crashed about 45 km north-east of Staryi Urengoi.

Rescuers found the helicopter lying on its side in the tundra. The agency said poor visibility and strong winds could have been factors.

The Mi-8 has been a mainstay of Soviet and Russian aviation since the late 1960s and is widely used worldwide.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.