Soldiers killed in Haiti chopper crash
Posted
Four Spanish soldiers have been killed after their helicopter crashed in a mountainous area near Haiti's border with the Dominican Republic, the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti said.
"The four Spanish soldiers are dead," said George Ola-Davies, a spokesman for the mission.
Their death was confirmed by the crews of two US Blackhawk helicopters that were dispatched to the site of the crash in Fond Verrettes, about 50 kilometres east of Port-au-Prince, he said.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known.
The soldiers' remains "are still in place" and will be repatriated when the site has been secured and Spanish forces arrive in the mountainous area, Mr Ola-Davies said.
Earlier, a Chilean helicopter deployed quickly to the area and "saw the impact site" but "could not localise the four occupants of the Spanish military craft" due to the "enormous damage", the MINUSTAH spokesman said.
Because the crash happened in a mountainous area, the Chilean craft also could not land, he added.
The helicopter that crashed was part of an independent Spanish detachment with the UN forces deployed in Haiti, he said.
Three other Spanish helicopters left their helicopter carrier, which was anchored in the Port-au-Prince bay, to participate in the search, Mr Ola-Davies said.
Defence ministry sources in Spain said only that a logistical support ship, the Castilla, had lost contact with one of its helicopters.
They would not confirm the number of people on board.
- AFP
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