A French soldier was killed and another seriously injured Tuesday in the crash of a military helicopter near Abidjan .
The French helicopter Aérospatiale Gazelle crashed around 17 hours in Modeste, a village located about ten kilometers east of the Ivorian economic capital, close to the coast.
According to a French military source who speaks on condition of anonymity, the helicopter belongs to the French Forces in Côte d’Ivoire (FFCI), which have a large base near Abidjan airport
The military base used in the fight against jihadist groups in the Sahel
The immediate cause of the accident is unknown.
The Accident Investigation Bureau of the transport ministry is on the scene after the incident, according to security sources.
The FFCI have about 950 men, and constitute the main French base on the African Atlantic coast. This military base is used in particular in the context of Operation Barkhane fighting against jihadist groups in the Sahel.
On 14 October 2017, a transport plane chartered by the French army crashed into the sea near the Abidjan airport, killing four Moldovans and wounding four French and two Moldovans on board.
