COTABATO CITY – A Philippine military helicopter transporting soldiers wounded from a recent clash with rebels has crashed Saturday while trying to land in the town of Malapatan in the southern province of Sarangani and injuring all 9 people onboard, officials said.
Officials said the refurbished UH-1D helicopter were evacuating 5 wounded soldiers who clashed Friday with the communist rebel group New People’s Army in the province when the chopper went down due to strong winds.
The helicopter crew – two pilots and two gunnery sergeants – were also injured in the crash, but the names of all the injured were not release by the army and the air force, but the Eastern Mindanao Command confirmed the accident and said all soldiers suffered injuries resulting from the crash.
“There were prevailing strong winds when the said helicopter was landing. The nine personnel -pilots, crew and soldiers – onboard the helicopter suffered slight injuries and were already secured,” said army Captain Alberto Caber, a spokesman for the Eastern Mindanao Command.
He said the chopper – part of 9 refurbished air force helicopters bought by the Philippines this year from Rice Aircraft Services Inc. – was wrecked. (Mindanao Examiner)
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