Funeral Services for Helicopter Crew Held


Funeral Services for Helicopter Crew Held –

Artsakh President Awards 3 Crew Member Posthumoursly

 
YEREVAN (Armenpress)—Funeral services for the three crew members of an Artsakh military helicopter, which was downed by Azerbaijani forces on Nov. 12, were held Monday at St. Sarkis Church in Yerevan’s Nor-Nork district, while Artsakh President Bako Sahakian announced that the three soldiers will be awarded posthumously for their service.

 In a special operation the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Armed Forces retrieved the remains of the three crew members from the helicopter crash site. The news of the operation was released on Saturday, but Nagorno-Karabakh Armed Forces announced that the operation had taken place few days prior to the announcement. The Artsakh forces were also able to recover portions of the downed helicopter, which will undergo an investigation.

 


President Serzh Sarkisian accompanied by Armenia’s Defense Minister Seryan Ohanian, Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan, His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenias and other government officials and members of parliament attended the service.

Catholicos Karekin II officiated the funeral mass and requiem service at St. Sarkis Church. At 2 p.m. local time Tuesday, the bodies of the three soldiers will be taken from St. Sarkis Church to Yerablur National Military Pantheon for interment.

“Taking into consideration the official statements by the Azerbaijani side and the absolute lack of reasoning, the Armed Forces of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic were forced to carry out a special operation to learn about the fate of the crew members of the helicopter downed by the rival on November 12 on the site and give solution to issues stemming from it. In the result of the realization of the military task, the body of one of the crew members and remains of the two pilots have been evacuated from the site of the incident along with some of the necessary parts of the helicopter. At the course of the special operation, two askyars of the rival have been eliminated. The Defense Army had no casualties,” an official statement by the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Armed Forces said on Saturday.

Karabakh President posthumously awards crew members of Mi-24 helicopter
On Saturday, Artsakh President Bako Sahakian signed a decree on posthumously awarding “For Courage” medal to major Sergey Sahakyan, senior lieutenant Sargis Nazaryan, lieutenant Azat Sahakyan , crew members of the NKR Air Force’s Mi-24 helicopter downed during a training flight as a result of ceasefire violation by Azerbaijani armed forces, reported the presidential press office.


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