A helicopter crash in Afghanistan, reportedly killed three people including a foreign pilot, Afghan officials said.
According to Nazer Khuda Pamiri, deputy commander of Afghan forces in northern Afghanistan, the helicopter crashed due to “technical problems” shortly after taking off in Dehdadi district in Balkh province.
The Afghan leader who disclosed that the aircraft was transporting Afghan security forces from a military base in Dehdadi to the volatile northwestern province of Faryab, said ten people were on board the helicopter at the time of the accident.
“Three people were killed and seven others were wounded,” Pamiri said.
“The dead include two Afghan security forces and one foreign pilot” who may have been Russian.
The helicopter which caught fire after the crash, belonged to a private company and had been hired by the ministry.
This is coming few days after an Ethiopian military helicopter crash killed 18 people. The aircraft crashed on a flight between the eastern city of Dire Dawa and Bishoftu, in the centre of the country, the agency said. Everyone on board — 15 soldiers and three civilians — was killed.
The helicopter belonged to the Ethiopian Air Force and the 15 military personnel were members of the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF), according to Fana BC. According to a letter from Defense Ministry indoctrination & PR division bureau, the flight No. 808 helicopter was on duty during the accident and crashed 20 minutes away from its destination in Bishiftu. The Ethiopia Air Force said the accident was being investigated.
Oromiya regional cabinet minister Addisu Arega confirmed the Fana report and tweeted: “All passengers on board died. The cause is under investigation. Our condolences to the families.”
“The cause of the crash is being investigated. I express deep sorrow for those who lost their lives.”
In 2013, an Ethiopian military cargo plane crashed in Mogadishu, killing four crew members.
