The crew of a Mi-26 helicopter, including two Belarusian citizens, has been detained at Djerba Airport in Tunisia, Baza reported. According to the outlet, the helicopter was being ferried to Uganda and landed in Tunisia for a scheduled stopover. The group consists of nine people: seven Russians and two Belarusian citizens. Five of them are flight crew members, while four are responsible for technical maintenance of the helicopter. All are working under a United Nations contract with a Kyrgyz aviation company.
According to pilot Sergey Suslov, upon arrival in Djerba the crew members were not allowed to leave the airport, their passports were confiscated, and no official grounds for the detention have been presented to them so far.
“Despite the fact that hotels for the crew were paid for in advance, they are not allowed to leave the airport building. For the third day already, people have been forced to spend the night right inside the airport. The crew is currently waiting for assistance from the Russian consulate,” the report says.
