Seven crew members were killed yesterday after two Royal Navy helicopters collided over international waters in the Persian Gulf, British military officials said.
Group Captain Al Lockwood, a spokesman for British forces in the gulf, said two Sea King airborne early warning helicopters collided in mid-air at around 4:30am local time.
The incident was not the result of enemy fire, he added.
"I have just had a report that all those on the helicopters have perished," Lockwood told Britain's news agency Press Association at UK Central Command in Qatar. "It's a great tragedy."
He said investigators were trying to determine why the helicopters collided.
"There is a lot of air activity. However, we do have very careful plans and procedures to ensure we have separation of all of the aircraft being used," Lockwood said.
"Sadly last night something was not quite right and we are looking to find out what that was as quickly as possible," he said
The Ministry of Defense in London said that further details would be released "as soon as possible after the next of kin have been informed."
The accident is the second involving coalition forces helicopters since the US-led campaign began.
Eight British Royal Marines and four American Marines died when a CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter crashed before dawn in Kuwait on Friday.
Lieutenant Colonel Ben Curry, a British Royal Marines spokesman, said that crash occurred as troops were being deployed to seize oil fields on the Al Faw Peninsula in southern Iraq.
Manufactured by AgustaWestland in Britain, the Sea King was developed for the Royal Navy and has been in service for more than 25 years.
There are more than 300 in service with both the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy. They are also used by military in Australia, Egypt, Germany, India and Pakistan.
RSS