Vietnam army helicopter crashes
HANOI - A Vietnamese military helicopter has crashed off the coast, killing all 16 people on board, including two senior officers and the three-member crew, the military says. The two senior officers killed in Wednesday's accident were of the rank of general, Voice of Vietnam radio said.
The helicopter crashed while en route between two islands off Vietnam's central coast, the official Tuoi Tre newspaper said on Thursday. Six bodies had been recovered by Wednesday evening, it said.
"It went down just few minutes after taking off from Me island," said an officer at the Military Command of the central province of Nghe An. Me island is 13 km (8 miles) off the coast and 150 km (90 miles) south of Hanoi. All 16 bodies have been recovered, said the officer. The Defence Ministry had ordered an investigation into the cause of the crash, the radio said.
Reuters - January 27, 2005
|