A rescue helicopter crashed yesterday when it tried to take off with too many Iraqi refugees on board, killing the pilot and involving an Australian photographer. The pilot died and several children were injured in the drama on Mount Sinjar, where Yazidi and Christian civilians are besieged by Islamic State fighters. The Iraqi military helicopter, which was carrying aid and had been mobbed by desperate families, was brought down by sheer weight of numbers. Scroll down for video . Tears of relief: An Iraqi Air Force helicopter emergency aid delivery turned into a rescue mission today in northern Iraq . Australian photographer Adam Ferguson was involved in a helicopter crash while providing aid to Yazidi refugees . An army spokesman said too many people tried to climb on board the helicopter, which crashed killing pilot Major General Majid Ashour died and injuring New York Times reporter Alissa Rubin. War correspondent Ms Rubin, 56, was working on a story and travelling on the Mi-17 helicopter with Australian photographer Adam Ferguson, who told the Times he was not injured. In a statement Lt. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi said Iraqi parliamentarian Vian Dakheel, who is from the minority Yazidi community, was also hurt in the crash. 'The helicopter delivered aid to the people stranded in Sinjar and too many people boarded it and it hit the mountain during takeoff,' the statement read. The injured were evacuated to a hospital in the nearby Kurdish region. Other aid flights – including one run by the RAF – have come under intense fire from the jihadi gunmen. Displaced people from the minority Yazidi sect, fleeing violence from forces loyal to the Islamic State in Sinjar town, walk towards the Syrian border, on the outskirts of Sinjar mountain on August 11 . Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community arrive at Nowruz camp, in Derike, Syria on August 12 . The RAF Hercules plane was shot at as it brought food and water to the refugees on Monday night. Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, who are helping the refugees escape the mountainside, said the small-arms fire missed the cargo plane. Thousands of people have been trapped for more than a week on Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq in blistering 50C heat without shelter, food or water. They have fought to scramble aboard the few helicopters bringing humanitarian supplies. In one case, a father and a mother threw their two young daughters across a crowd on to a helicopter which took the children to safety, leaving the two parents behind. And a man clung desperately to the side of another helicopter before losing his grip and plunging to his death. Desperate: A woman clings on to a departing aid helicopter . The dramatic footage shows the moment a desperate woman clung onto an aid flight as it departed Mount Sinjar following the delivery of aid . Special forces are believed to be on the mountain with British and American intelligence officers in direct contact with leaders of the refugees. Special phones were dropped from a Hercules in the first RAF mercy mission, on Saturday. When switched on, they connect directly to Kurdish-speaking British or US agents. A source said: 'They are talking to the people on the mountain, and the questions they are asking are: Where are you? How long can you survive? How much water do you have? Where are the IS fighters?' Mirza Dinnay, a UN relief worker, told the BBC yesterday: 'It's a genocide. You find what looks like hundreds of dead people. Fleeing: The military helicopter crashed on a mountain as it tried to provide aid to the 500,000-strong Yazidi population in Sinjar (pictured), near the Syrian border, as they flee Sunni militants of the Islamic State . Horrific: The refugees are trying to find safety after Isil gave them the ultimatum: convert to Islam or die . 'Thousands of people are trying to save themselves. 'You can imagine what it is like when you land among 5,000 people and can take only ten or 20, and everybody tries to get on the helicopter. 'It's a dangerous situation because everybody pushes each other. Many haven't eaten for around nine days and they are living under the hot sun. 'Three days ago one man tried to get into the helicopter but he couldn't manage it. 'He then clung to the side as we took off but we couldn't help him get inside and within one or two minutes we were flying at around 100 metres, he fell down. Like in a Hollywood film, he died.' On another aid flight, there were chaotic scenes as an Iraqi army helicopter pilot agreed to let a handful of refugees on board but then relented and let 50 people including young children rush on – even though the aircraft has a passenger capacity of 15. The weight was too great for the helicopter to take off, until five men got out. The pilot, Major General Ahmed Saadi, told ITV News: 'I thought, God will be with us.' The picture was the same elsewhere on the mountain when a helicopter delivered food, shoes, nappies and condensed milk to a group seen waving makeshift white flags. It took away just 20 refugees, many seen weeping for loved ones they were forced to abandon. Some of those fleeing spoke of dozens of unburied bodies of people on the mountain who lost their battle for survival. The second RAF aid drop, on Monday night, contained more phones and also GPS equipment to help organise future aid drops. The RAF and Americans have between them delivered 20,000 gallons of water and 85,000 meals, plus 1,000 solar lanterns that can also be used to recharge mobile phones. Last night a government source said ministers were 'hardening up' plans to evacuate Mount Sinjar: 'We are working as fast as we can. It's a complicated operation.'
Russian-built Mi-17 helicopter crashed as too many tried to climb aboard .
Pilot killed and 20 injured in the crash on mountain in Sinjar, remote Iraq .
Yazidi Iraqi MP and a New York Times reporter among the injured .
Australian photographer Adam Ferguson was on board but not hurt .
Comes after Islamic State seized Sinjar, told residents: 'convert or die'
Yazidis follow ancient religion with connections to Zoroastrianism .
A rescue helicopter crashed yesterday when it tried to take off with too many Iraqi refugees on board, killing the pilot and involving an Australian photographer. The pilot died and several children were injured in the drama on Mount Sinjar, where Yazidi and Christian civilians are besieged by Islamic State fighters. The Iraqi military helicopter, which was carrying aid and had been mobbed by desperate families, was brought down by sheer weight of numbers. Scroll down for video . Tears of relief: An Iraqi Air Force helicopter emergency aid delivery turned into a rescue mission today in northern Iraq . Australian photographer Adam Ferguson was involved in a helicopter crash while providing aid to Yazidi refugees . An army spokesman said too many people tried to climb on board the helicopter, which crashed killing pilot Major General Majid Ashour died and injuring New York Times reporter Alissa Rubin. War correspondent Ms Rubin, 56, was working on a story and travelling on the Mi-17 helicopter with Australian photographer Adam Ferguson, who told the Times he was not injured. In a statement Lt. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi said Iraqi parliamentarian Vian Dakheel, who is from the minority Yazidi community, was also hurt in the crash. 'The helicopter delivered aid to the people stranded in Sinjar and too many people boarded it and it hit the mountain during takeoff,' the statement read. The injured were evacuated to a hospital in the nearby Kurdish region. Other aid flights – including one run by the RAF – have come under intense fire from the jihadi gunmen. Displaced people from the minority Yazidi sect, fleeing violence from forces loyal to the Islamic State in Sinjar town, walk towards the Syrian border, on the outskirts of Sinjar mountain on August 11 . Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community arrive at Nowruz camp, in Derike, Syria on August 12 . The RAF Hercules plane was shot at as it brought food and water to the refugees on Monday night. Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, who are helping the refugees escape the mountainside, said the small-arms fire missed the cargo plane. Thousands of people have been trapped for more than a week on Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq in blistering 50C heat without shelter, food or water. They have fought to scramble aboard the few helicopters bringing humanitarian supplies. In one case, a father and a mother threw their two young daughters across a crowd on to a helicopter which took the children to safety, leaving the two parents behind. And a man clung desperately to the side of another helicopter before losing his grip and plunging to his death. Desperate: A woman clings on to a departing aid helicopter . The dramatic footage shows the moment a desperate woman clung onto an aid flight as it departed Mount Sinjar following the delivery of aid . Special forces are believed to be on the mountain with British and American intelligence officers in direct contact with leaders of the refugees. Special phones were dropped from a Hercules in the first RAF mercy mission, on Saturday. When switched on, they connect directly to Kurdish-speaking British or US agents. A source said: 'They are talking to the people on the mountain, and the questions they are asking are: Where are you? How long can you survive? How much water do you have? Where are the IS fighters?' Mirza Dinnay, a UN relief worker, told the BBC yesterday: 'It's a genocide. You find what looks like hundreds of dead people. Fleeing: The military helicopter crashed on a mountain as it tried to provide aid to the 500,000-strong Yazidi population in Sinjar (pictured), near the Syrian border, as they flee Sunni militants of the Islamic State . Horrific: The refugees are trying to find safety after Isil gave them the ultimatum: convert to Islam or die . 'Thousands of people are trying to save themselves. 'You can imagine what it is like when you land among 5,000 people and can take only ten or 20, and everybody tries to get on the helicopter. 'It's a dangerous situation because everybody pushes each other. Many haven't eaten for around nine days and they are living under the hot sun. 'Three days ago one man tried to get into the helicopter but he couldn't manage it. 'He then clung to the side as we took off but we couldn't help him get inside and within one or two minutes we were flying at around 100 metres, he fell down. Like in a Hollywood film, he died.' On another aid flight, there were chaotic scenes as an Iraqi army helicopter pilot agreed to let a handful of refugees on board but then relented and let 50 people including young children rush on – even though the aircraft has a passenger capacity of 15. The weight was too great for the helicopter to take off, until five men got out. The pilot, Major General Ahmed Saadi, told ITV News: 'I thought, God will be with us.' The picture was the same elsewhere on the mountain when a helicopter delivered food, shoes, nappies and condensed milk to a group seen waving makeshift white flags. It took away just 20 refugees, many seen weeping for loved ones they were forced to abandon. Some of those fleeing spoke of dozens of unburied bodies of people on the mountain who lost their battle for survival. The second RAF aid drop, on Monday night, contained more phones and also GPS equipment to help organise future aid drops. The RAF and Americans have between them delivered 20,000 gallons of water and 85,000 meals, plus 1,000 solar lanterns that can also be used to recharge mobile phones. Last night a government source said ministers were 'hardening up' plans to evacuate Mount Sinjar: 'We are working as fast as we can. It's a complicated operation.'
Iraq . Australian photographer Adam Ferguson was too many people tried to climb on board the General Majid Ashour died and injuring New York on the Mi-17 helicopter with Australian photographer Adam Ferguson, who told the Times he community, was also hurt in the crash. 'The Fleeing: The military helicopter crashed on a 500,000-strong Yazidi population in Sinjar Sunni militants of the Islamic State . Horrific: gave them the ultimatum: convert to Islam or die