MOSCOW, Aug. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- A Russian Mi-8 transport helicopter crashed in Siberia on Thursday, killing six of the 15 people on board, the Emergency Situations Ministry said.

    The helicopter, carrying 12 passengers and three crew members, crashed in Siberia's Tyumen region bordering Kazakhstan, Interfax news agency reported.

    "The fate of other passengers is unknown," a spokesman for the ministry was quoted as saying.

    The Mi-8 crashed when it was making an inspection flight over aforested area along with another helicopter.

    The two helicopters took off from an airfield in the town of Raduzhnoye and the second helicopter had landed to give aid to thecrashed one.

    Rescue teams have been dispatched to the accident scene. Enditem