Ukrainian helicopter crashes, 13 on board

KIEV (Reuters) - A helicopter belonging to Ukraine's border guards crashed off an island in the Black Sea on Thursday and the fate of 12 of its 13 passengers was unknown, the Emergencies Ministry said.

Ministry spokesman Ihor Krol said one passenger aboard the Mi-8 helicopter, a military workhorse in post-Soviet states, had been rescued off Poludenniy island near the port city of Odessa.

"The helicopter was flying from Odessa to Serpent Island," Krol said by telephone. "It was spotted overturned. There were 13 people on board. One person was rescued. The fate of 12 others remains unknown."

All but one of those on board were military officers.

The ministry gave no reason for the crash, but a storm warning was in effect for the region.

Serpent Island, a windswept outcrop in the Black Sea, has long been in dispute between post-Soviet Ukraine and Romania. The row has been referred to international courts.

A border guard contingent on the island regularly receives its supplies by air.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Writing by Ron Popeski; Editing by Janet Lawrence)