Two pilots were yesterday killed in Vietnam after their military airplane crashed during a training session, an official told reporters.
Although Vietnam has a good civilian aviation record, airplane and helicopter crashes are regularly reported in the military, which relies on an arsenal of imported equipment — mostly from long-time ally Russia.
The two pilots died in central Khanh Hoa Province when their Russian two-seat Yakovlev Yak-52 trainer crashed near a mountain, killing one of them instantly.
“One was found dead while the other one died on the way to hospital,” said Nguyen Ngoc Khue, the head of the local commune where the accident occurred.
The crash site was blocked off for investigation, Khue added, and photographs in state media showed plumes of smoke billowing from the downed airplane.
The Yak-52 took its first flight in 1976 in Russia and was later manufactured in Romania by Aerostar. It was designed to train civilian sport pilots and military pilots in the former Soviet Union.
Yesterday’s crash followed several similar accidents in the communist country in the past few years.
In July last year, two pilots were killed when training in central Nghe An Province in a Russian-made Sukhoi Su-22 that belonged to Vietnamese People’s Air Force.
At least 14 people were reported killed in military crashes in 2016.
Vietnam is seeking to modernize its military by purchasing more equipment from partners beyond old Soviet ally Russia, including from France, Germany and Israel.
US President Donald Trump has also encouraged Hanoi to buy more US equipment to narrow a trade gap.
Observers have said that Vietnam is willing to do so, but could struggle to afford US military hardware.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was