A military helicopter crashed in western Thailand yesterday, killing three people and injuring one, the army said, raising the death toll to 17 from three air accidents in the same area in the past nine days. The Bell 212 helicopter was supporting operations to retrieve the seven missing bodies from a Black Hawk crash on Tuesday when it went down and caught fire in western Phetchaburi Province.
Two bodies were found on Saturday, including that of a television cameraman.
Tuesday’s fatal mission was to retrieve the bodies of five army personnel who died when another Vietnam War-era helicopter went down in bad weather last weekend.
Army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the sole survivor of yesterday’s crash, a mechanic, reported a problem with the helicopter tail and the cause was likely to be engine trouble.
Channel 3 television showed a mangled helicopter in flames on a rugged patch of land. Witnesses said they spotted a problem with the tail of the aircraft before it went down.
The first two helicopters that crashed had flown over hilly jungle terrain in a rain-soaked region. Air missions have been conducted daily because rescue teams were unable to scour the area on foot.
Military helicopter accidents have occurred with startling frequency in Thailand, with three Bell UH-1H choppers crashing between June and October 2008, as a result of engine trouble or bad weather.
Most of Thailand’s military helicopters were procured from the US and many were used during the Vietnam War.
Army commander-in-chief Prayuth Chanocha told local television the missions to retrieve the missing bodies would continue and the latest crash would not deter the army from using its helicopters.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number