Eight dead in Afghan helicopter crash 13 Canadians hurt in separate accident
Murray Brewster, The Canadian Press Published: Sunday, February 18, 2007
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Military investigators from two countries are looking into two separate crashes that killed eight NATO soldiers and injured 27 Sunday in southern and eastern Afghanistan.
The worse accident involved a coalition CH-47 Chinook helicopter that
crashed in the Shahjoy district of Zabul province, roughly 270 kilometres northeast of Kandahar.
U.S. soldiers embark from a CH-47 Chinook military helicopter to take part in the ground opening of Lashkar Gah's PRT (Provincial Reconstruction Team) of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, in this March 19, 2005 file photo. MUSADEQ SADEQ / AP Photo Email to a friend Printer friendly Font: *
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The chopper, carrying 22 U.S. service members, suffered a sudden, unexplained loss of power and crashed near the main highway to Kabul.
“The loss of these service members is felt by all of us here in Afghanistan, and we offer our deepest sympathy to the families of those who were killed,” said Lt.-Col. David Accetta, a coalition spokesman.
The U.S. military emphasized that the cause of the crash was believed to be mechanical and not due to hostile action, although the aircraft was carrying troops meant to counter an expected militant operation in the region.
“It was not enemy-fire-related,” said Col. Tom Collins, a spokesman for NATO in Kabul. “The pilot was able to radio in that he was having engine problems. We’re confident it was not due to enemy action.”
In the past two years, two other U.S. Chinooks have crashed in Afghanistan, one involving enemy fire, the other due to mechanical trouble. A total of 26 lives were lost as a result of both incidents.
The eight dead and 14 injured in the chopper early Sunday followed the crash
of three Canadian armoured vehicles on the pre-dawn streets of Kandahar.
Thirteen Canadian soldiers suffered minor injuries early Sunday when their LAV III fighting vehicles smashed into one another.
The accident happened when a convoy of recently arrived combat troops was moving between bases, said Maj. Dale MacEachern, a spokesman for the Canadian Forces.
“I can’t discuss the nature of (individual) injuries to the soldiers for reasons of privacy, but I can say they were all minor injuries,” he said.
“All of these soldiers are expected to go back to work.”
All of the injured were treated at the nearby medical clinic at the Canadian-run provincial reconstruction base, but six of them were transferred by air to the NATO hospital at Kandahar Airfield for further observation.
“It’s just to be safe to make sure our soldiers are OK,” said MacEachern.
Details of how the collision happened were not released and military police were investigating. The LAV IIIs sustained minor damage.
The fact that all of the soldiers involved are new to the theatre - troops from the 2nd Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment and reserve units from around Atlantic Canada arrived in the country this month - is being considered as a factor because each new rotation has encountered a series of vehicle accidents at the beginning.
“Our soldiers receive excellent training before they’re deployed to theatre, but I don’t think anything can quite fully prepare anyone for the nature of the roads here in Kandahar,” said MacEachern.
Like many Middle Eastern countries, there is no such thing as a speed limit on many of the highways and side streets. Traffic, especially during peak times, is chaotic with vehicles passing one another or weaving about in a manner that would be illegal in North America.
Traffic accidents have taken a considerable toll on the army.
Last August, Master Cpl. Raymond Arndt was killed in a truck crash.
Three other soldiers have died in accidents involving their armoured vehicles.
Master Cpl. Timothy Wilson and Cpl. Paul Davis were killed in a crash outside Kandahar in March 2006. Just over four months before that, Pte. Braun Scott Woodfield died in a similar accident.
© The Canadian Press
Thirteen Canadian soldiers sustained minor injuries yesterday when three light armoured vehicles (LAV III) smashed into each other in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The LAV IIIs are reported to have sustained minor damage.

Seven soldiers were taken to the Canadian-run provincial reconstruction base medical clinic. Six soldiers were transferred by air to the NATO hospital in Kandahar airfield.

The soldiers, who arrived in Afghanistan this month, are from the 2nd Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment and reserve units around Atlantic Canada..

"Our soldiers receive excellent training before they're deployed to theatre, but I don't think anything can quite fully prepare anyone for the nature of the roads here in Kandahar," said a spokesman for the Canadian Forces, Major Dale MacEachern.

They are now safe and will return to their units in a couple of days.