Helicopter crashes into Ukrainian kindergarten: Search for casualties underway

An aircraft crashed into a building in the Ukrainian town of Brovary near Kyiv on Wednesday, and emergency services rushed to the scene.

The governor of Ukraine's Kyiv region said it was a helicopter, and that it had crashed into a kindergarten and a residential building. He said there were casualties.

'In the city of Brovary, a helicopter fell near a kindergarten and a residential building,' the head of the Kyiv regional administration, Oleksiy Kuleba, said, adding that 'children and employees were in the kindergarten... there are casualties recorded.' 

A presidential aide said checks were being made on casualties, amid fears that children were still inside the blazing building. Initial reports 

Videos shared on social media showed a burning building, and said an object resembling a helicopter or drone had crashed into the nursery building.

'We are finding out information about casualties and the circumstances,' the deputy head of Ukraine's presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, wrote on the Telegram messaging app. The reason for the crash was not immediately clear.

One video appeared to show a playground on fire and covered in debris.

Early reports were unclear whether a helicopter or drone had crashed in the residential district.

Later it was stated that a helicopter crashed near a kindergarten in Brovary, Kiev Region, said deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko.

He said two people died as a result of the crash and there was fire at the crash site.

The crash comes days after a Russian missile struck a residential building in Dnipro on Saturday, killing at least 45 - including six children.

This is a breaking news story. More to follow...