At least eight people have been killed after a helicopter crashed in central Russia, local media reported on Sunday.

The helicopter went missing in the south Siberian Republic of Altai on January 9, Itar-Tass and Interfax said, citing air navigation authority and emergencies ministry sources.

The helicopter was smashed and rescuers were parachuted near the site of the accident, said the sources.

Among the 11 people aboard were Alexander Kosopkin, a Russian presidential envoy to the State Duma, the lower house of the parliament and Anatoly Bannykh, a deputy prime minister of the local authority.

The Mi-8 helicopter, a major carrier horse of the Russian Air Force and also used in civilian airlines, belongs to Gazpromavia, a subsidiary of Russia's gas giant Gazprom.

(Xinhua News Agency January 12, 2009)