The World - News from April 14, 1989

Syria has apologized to the Soviet Union over an incident in which two Syrian helicopters fired on two Soviet vessels, wounding seven seamen, Foreign Ministry spokesman Gennady I. Gerasimov said. He told a news conference in Moscow that the helicopters had fired rockets at a tugboat and a diving support vessel off the Syrian port of Tartus. Two of the crew members were seriously hurt, and one was not expected to survive, Gerasimov said. “Initial examination shows that one of the pilots made an error,” he said. “Syria has expressed its regrets and issued an apology.” However, Syrian officials in Damascus had no immediate comment on the reports from Moscow, and Syria’s official media did not mention the incident.