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US aid helicopter crashes in Indonesia
Ian Timberlake
Posted Mon, 10 Jan 2005
A US navy seahawk helicopter bringing aid to victims of the tsunami disaster in Indonesia crashed on Monday, leaving at least four personnel injured, officials said.
Navy relief operations on the northern tip of Sumartra island, where more than 100 000 people were killed in last month's disaster, were briefly suspended following the crash, the cause of which was not immediately known.
US navy spokesperson John Bernard said there were no fatalities from the incident which occurred around 7.15am as the helicopter was flying from the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier moored off the coast of Sumatra.
"There were 10 persons on board, all survived," he said, adding that all had been returned to the Lincoln for medical attention.
It was not known if all on board were navy personnel.
Bernard said the helicopter was from the US navy's HS2 anti-submarine squadron based in San Diego area.
He said an investigation was under way to determine the cause of the incident.
Aid workers told US officers that four were injured.
A French fire-fighter of the Securtie Civile was heard telling a US navy officer at the airport in Banda Aceh, "I am sorry about your machine, there are four slightly hurt."
The helicopter landed on its right side in a rice paddy close to its usual landing site on a football field.
It appeared intact but its rotor blades were damaged, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.
Indonesian Police Brigadier general Ito Sumardi, the head of the police disaster task force in Banda Aceh, said smoke was seen pouring from the aircraft shortly before the crash.
"Many saw this, the helicopter suddenly began to turn around itself and crashed on the ground, emitting white smoke," Sumardi told Elshinta radio.
The crash site was immediately cordoned off and placed under guard by US and Indonesian troops.
The helicopters have been a lifeline for many people trapped in isolated stretches of coastline obliterated by the full force of the onrushing water.
Monday's crash was the latest in a series of hitches to blight the relief operation.
Last week a plane hit a buffalo on Banda Aceh's runway, shutting down the airport for almost a day and delaying vital aid flights.
Despite an enormous global aid response to the disaster, poor logistics have meant that bottlenecks of supplies have built up at Indonesia's airports, while people on the ground remain desperate for food and medicines.
AFP
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