At least 18 people have died after a helicopter crashed while attempting to land in Siberia, Russian state media reported Saturday.

The helicopter had three crew members and 15 oil industry workers aboard when it crashed while flying from the Vankor oil field to Kharkasale.

"At 10:20 am (0320 GMT) on August 4, 2018, a Mi-8 helicopter performed a hard landing in Turukhansk district 2 kilometres from the village of Igarka," an emergency ministry source in the Krasnoyaarsk region told Sputnik News.

The Mi-8's crash, about 4100 kilometres east of Moscow, may have been caused by technical failure, the source said, adding that the aircraft fell apart and caught fire while it attempted a hard landing.

Transport authorities told Sputnik they are investigating the crash.