Bodies of Russian U.N. Aircrew Shot down in S.Sudan Flown Home

The bodies of three Russian airmen killed when their U.N. helicopter was shot down by gunmen in South Sudan were flown home Friday, the peacekeeping mission said.

United Nations aid chief in South Sudan Toby Lanzer, speaking to colleagues gathered at the airport around the coffins draped in U.N. flags, described a "deep sense of shared sadness".

The U.N. Security Council said the U.N. Mi-8 cargo helicopter was downed Tuesday in an "attack" that killed three crew members and injured another, but did not say which side was to blame.

Thousands of people have been killed and more than 1.8 million have fled a civil war sparked by a power struggle between President Salva Kiir and his sacked deputy Riek Machar.

The army and rebels have both accused each other of the attack, which broke a day-old ceasefire deal, the fourth in eight months of war.

"We lost people who had plans for a bright future, people who came here to support peace," said Oleg Belevikin, chief pilot for Russia's UTAir Aviation, contracted to fly the helicopters for the U.N.

"Each of your comrades had a family and children who were waiting for their return home, let us hope their families can cope with this," he added.

The three killed were named as Captain Andrei Berdnikov, 50, Flight Engineer Tuktasyn Ishmetov, 57, and Flight Attendant Alexey Sazontov, 33.

A fourth crew member, co-pilot Alexander Lobkov, was injured in the crash, but he attended the ceremony Friday.

U.N. cargo helicopters are vital to supplying peacekeeping bases and providing food for civilians, especially to reach remote regions hardest hit by the fighting amid aid agency fears of the risk of famine.