WORLD : 5 Marines Killed in Copter Crash
A U.S. Marine helicopter on a night training flight over the French Alps hit a high-voltage power line and crashed in a ball of fire, killing all five Marines aboard, authorities said today.
The UH-1N Huey helicopter, which was the lead aircraft in a flight of two, crashed when it struck an electric cable late Wednesday near Castellane, about 400 miles southeast of Paris, police and U.S. officials said. The chopper exploded on impact, sparking a small forest fire.
The names of the victims were being withheld pending notification of next of kin. The cause of the crash was under investigation.
Both aircraft from Marine Helicopter Squadron 162 based at Marine Air Station, New River, N.C., were participating in exercise Tranch II Routine Training Ashore at Camp DeCanjuers, a French army base northeast of Toulon.
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