U.S. Relief Helicopter Crashes in Indonesia; Several Injured

The U.S. military briefly suspended relief flights today after a Navy helicopter with 10 people aboard crashed in this provincial capital, injuring several people.

The SH-60 Seahawk went down around 7:20 this morning in a rice paddy about 500 yards north of Indonesia’s Banda Aceh air force base, the hub of efforts to aid victims of last month’s tsunami.

The weather was clear at the time of the crash, the first during the aid effort. Maj. Dwight C. Neeley of the 3rd Marine Division said there was no fire at the site.

Capt. Larry Burt, air wing commander on the U.S. aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, said an investigation into the crash was underway. Those aboard were taken back to the carrier after the crash, and Burt said some of injuries appeared to be serious.

The crew is based at the North Island Naval Air Station near San Diego, Lt. Cmdr. John Bernard said. Helicopters from the Lincoln are flying 40 to 50 aid sorties daily, he added.