Four people were killed Thursday when a private helicopter crashed in central Ukraine, officials said.

The chopper was discovered ablaze on the outskirts of the town of Kremenchuk, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) southeast of the capital Kiev.

"As a result of the incident, four crew members were killed," an emergency state service said in a statement on Facebook.

It said the Mi-8 helicopter was operated by the private company Ukrainian Helicopters and crashed while was on a training flight.

The agency added that the fire was "localized" at 7:35 pm (1735 GMT), about half an hour after the crash.