Afghan army Mil Mi-8 Helicopter with 14 aboard crashes at Shaheen Corps headquarters, northern Balkh province
A total of twelve occupants died in the crash, two pilots and ten passengers.
A Mil Mi-8MTV helicopter crashed during takeoff from the Shaheen Corps headquarters in Afghanistan.
On board, the helicopter were three Ukrainian crew members, four public order police soldiers, four army soldiers, and two national police soldiers. The helicopter was reportedly chartered by the Afghanistan Army.
“The incident occurred at 7:55 a.m. local time near army Corps 209 Shaheen on outskirts of provincial capital Mazar-i-Sharif city. The chopper crashed and caught fire shortly after taking off from the base and an investigation has been launched into the incident,” Hanif Rezai, spokesman of the army corps
The initial information said the helicopter was carrying 10 people and fate of the remaining seven army personnel was not known immediately, Rezai added.
According to Rezaye, four public order police soldiers, 4 army soldiers, and 2 national police soldiers were on board when the helicopter crashed.
The rescued people, including a pilot, were shifted to a hospital in the army base.
Further information will be released later in the day, he said.
