Military helicopter crashes in Ho Chi Minh City, 4 soldiers die
On the morning of January 28, a military helicopter was on a training flight when it lost contact. Nearly 2 hours later, the aircraft was discovered crashed at a farm in Binh Chanh district.
Speaking to reporters, Lieutenant General Vo Van Tuan, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Vietnam Army, said that all four people on the helicopter died. The soldiers were all from the 917th Regiment, 370th Air Division, Air Defense - Air Force.
At 7am this morning, a UH 1 military helicopter took off from Tan Son Nhat for a training flight. About 8 minutes after leaving the airport, the aircraft lost contact in Binh Chanh district. There were 4 people on board, including the crew.
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All roads leading to the plane crash site are blocked.Photo: An Nhon. |
According to Mr. Pham Van Tuoi, Chairman of Binh Chanh District, the locality deployed all search forces immediately after receiving the information. "The plane has been found crashed in the area of Pham Van Hai farm," Mr. Tuoi said.
Many forces of Ho Chi Minh City have participated in the search and rescue work. The Ministry of Defense mobilized helicopters to approach the scene.
Ms. Loan, a resident of Pham Van Hai commune, said that at around 7am, she heard a very loud explosion near the Xang canal, behind the factory buildings of Pham Van Hai farm. "After that, smoke rose very high, covering the whole sky," Ms. Loan said.
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Thousands of people from various forces were mobilized to the scene. Photo: An Nhon. |
Thousands of people including police, soldiers, rescuers... were mobilized to block off a large area with a radius of 3 km. All roads leading to the plane crash site were strictly guarded. Many ambulances were also mobilized.
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Area where helicopter lost contact (circled in red). |
The UH-1 Iroquois is a multi-purpose military helicopter manufactured by Bell. The UH-1 is very famous and considered one of the symbols of the Vietnam War, known by its US Marine Corps name Huey.
The UH 1 aircraft has a crew of 1 - 4 people; 17.4 m long; 4.39 m high; empty weight 2,365 kg, loaded 4,100 kg, maximum take-off weight 4,309 kg. The aircraft has a maximum speed of 217 km/h, a range of 507 km, a ceiling of 5,910 m, and a capacity of 14 people.
According to VNE
