Vietnam military helicopter crash kills 18 near Hanoi
HANOI, VIETNAM - Eighteen people are now confirmed dead following the military transport helicopter crash in Vietnam Monday while on a routine parachute training mission, officials said.
16 military personnel were killed instantly in the crash, while two more died later in hospital. 3 others were injured in the early morning accident that occurred on the outskirts of Hanoi in Thach That, about 35 kilometers from the Vietnamese capital.
"The accident happened in Thach That when the MI-171 helicopter was conducting a parachuting exercise," Vo Van Tuan, the deputy chief of staff of the Vietnamese People's Army, told local media.
The officials said that the Russian-made helicopter burst into flames and crashed down into an abandoned house, some 15 minutes after it took off just west of Hanoi.
The helicopter's flight recorder has been recovered which will assist authorities investigating the cause of the crash.
The Mi-171, according to the maker, Avia Russia, is medium multi-purpose helicopter. Over 11,000, including its variants, have been produced to date and are in service in some 80 countries.
The deputy chief of the general staff said that the dead and injured were all military personnel. Sixteen of those on board were parachute recruits from the Air Force's helicopter regiment. There were also two trainers and three crew members on board, a state media report said.
Officials in a military hospital where the dead and injured were brought said those that survived were being treated for serious burn injuries.
Vo Van Tuan said that the "priority now is to look after the injured, some who are in serious condition".
Media reports citing eyewitnesses said the helicopter appeared to run into difficulties before it crashed and caught fire.
"The aircraft was flying low, it hit the ground and exploded at the same time," a local resident told the AFP news agency.
"It seemed like the pilot wanted to divert the plane from hitting the local market and houses, so it ran into a field."
Another unidentified person quoted by the South China Morning Post said: "I heard an aircraft making a strange noise ... I ran outside and the aircraft exploded, there was a huge blaze then a plume of smoke."
The latest accident is a grim reminder of a 2008 crash when five Vietnamese military pilots were killed in their twin-engine light transport aircraft. The Soviet-designed Antonov An-26 turboprop crashed into a rice field south of the capital during a morning training flight.
Vietnam buys most of its military hardware from its cold war ally Russia. Reports say that much of its military equipment dates back more than 20 years.
The Vietnamese High Command of Air Defense and Air Force on Tuesday ordered all divisions to suspend flight training courses until further notice.
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