Togolese Sports Minister Richard Attipoe was among the members of a delegation of sports officials from Togo killed aboard a passenger helicopter that crashed in Sierra Leone, officials said on June 4.

At least 21 people, most of them Togolese, were killed when the Russian-made Mi-8 helicopter operated by Paramount Airlines exploded and crashed late on June 3 at Lungi international airport, 13 km north of Freetown.

Initial reports had put the number of dead at 22, but Sierra Leone officials said the Russian pilot of the helicopter had survived.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known. The helicopter came down in flames on an airport runway.

"There was an explosion on board the helicopter before it landed," Donald Bull, general manager of the Sierra Leone Airport Authority, told reporters.

Rescue workers were later seen trying to extricate the charred bodies of the victims from the burned crash wreckage.

Bull said most of those killed were Togolese and it was not immediately clear if there were any other nationalities on board.

The Togolese sports delegation had chartered the helicopter to return to the airport after attending an African Nations Cup soccer qualifying game played in the capital Freetown on June 3 between Sierra Leone and Togo. The visiting team had won 1-0.

Spokesmen for the Togolese Football Federation and the Togolese Olympic Committee confirmed Attipoe was among those killed. Togo's government website also reported the news.

No players of the Togo national soccer team were among the victims. They had been waiting to take the next helicopter flight to Lungi airport.

Paramount Airlines is one of two commercial companies that run helicopter services between Freetown and Lungi airport, ferrying passengers in a 7-minute flight over the Sierra Leone river.