Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji on Monday offered deep condolences to his Mongolian counterpart, Nambaryn Enkhbayar, over the deaths of nine people in Sunday's helicopter crash.

In a telegram of condolence, Zhu said he was shocked to learn about the crash of the Russian-made MI-8 helicopter and expressed his deep sympathy to the relatives of the victims.

The helicopter spun out of control and exploded Sunday in Uvs province, 1,000 kilometers west of the capital Ulan Bator, killing nine people on board, including three UN disaster relief officials, and leaving 14 injured.

The cause of the accident was still under investigation.

(Xinhua 01/15/2001)