UNITED NATIONS — A Russian helicopter pilot who went missing after his helicopter was forced to land in a tribal area of Darfur has been found and taken to a hospital for examination, the United Nations said.
The pilot, Yevgeny Mostovshchikov, who was working for the international peacekeeping force in Darfur, apparently was beaten by his captors. But his health is in good condition, a representative of the Russian Embassy in Sudan told Interfax on Friday.
The UTair aircraft, working under contract for the joint UN-African Union force, known as UNAMID, made an unscheduled landing last Monday and came under attack by armed locals, who detained Mostovshchikov, UNAMID said.
But the pilot was released after negotiations, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said.
(AP, MT)
