Subscribe
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Five Combined Joint Task Force-82 Soldiers died when a CJTF-82 cargo helicopter crashed in Helmand Province at 9:05 p.m. last night killing all on board.
It is unclear at this time why the CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed and the cause remains under investigation.
The five CJTF-82 Soldiers who died were American crewmembers on the Chinook.
"We extend our deepest sympathies to the families and comrades of the Soldiers who were involved in the crash," said Army Col. Kelly Thomas, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade and Task Force Pegasus commander. "Their courage and dedication will never be forgotten, and we will honor them by continuing our commitment to supporting the Afghan people and government while fighting the War on Terror."
A Coalition forces patrol moved to secure the crash site and was subsequently engaged by a large number of insurgents, wounding one Coalition servicemember and one Afghan civilian.
Coalition forces medical personnel stabilized the civilian injured by small arms fire, who was medically evacuated to a nearby treatment facility. The Coalition servicemember was only slightly wounded and did not require evacuation. There were no reports of other Afghan civilian injuries from the engagement.
The Coalition forces patrol was near the crash site when they were immediately brought under small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire from compounds surrounding the crash site.
Coalition forces aircraft were requested to suppress the insurgents and secure the crash site. A large number of insurgents were killed during the five-hour engagement.
Two International Security Assistance Force servicemembers were also killed when the helicopter crashed. The nationalities of these servicemembers will be released by their respective nations at a later date.
The names of the deceased Americans will be released pending next-of-kin notification.
A team from the U.S. Army Aviation Center from Fort Rucker, Ala., is ,en route here to investigate the cause of the crash.
| Date Taken: | 05.31.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 05.31.2007 15:40 |
| Story ID: | 10613 |
| Location: | BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF |
| Web Views: | 184 |
| Downloads: | 115 |
This work, CJTF-82 CH-47 helicopter crashes in Helmand Province, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
