Spanish troops die in Afghan crash

[righthand]

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/as...ash/index.html

MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Spain confirmed the country's first troop fatalities in Afghanistan, saying that 17 troops died on Tuesday in what appeared to be an accidental helicopter crash, a spokesman in the Spanish prime minister's office told CNN. The troops were serving under NATO command as part of a Spanish contingent of about 800 peacekeeping troops there. The spokesman said "a helicopter crashed" although he had no immediate further information on the circumstances of the accident. The location of the crash is near the western Afghan city of Herat. He said there was no indication that the helicopter was brought down by hostile fire, a major concern since fighting between U.S. and Afghan forces and Taliban militants has been raging during the runup to the Sept, 18 Afghan parliamentary elections. But Herat is part of a region closer to Iran, an area that has not been plagued by the kind of fighting that has been raging along Afghanistan's eastern border. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, on vacation, has been informed and was in contact with Spain's Defense Ministry, the spokesman said

Disasters. Never rains but it pours. It's certainly raining now.

[righthand]

Airliner comes down in Venezuela
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4156224.stm

[center] [/center]

BBC News ...Tuesday, 16 August 2005, 12:03 GMT 13:03 UK A Colombian airliner with 152 passengers has crashed in a remote north-western region of Venezuela. The West Caribbean Airways plane was reported to have been travelling from Panama to the island of Martinique. Rescue workers are said to be on their way to the area of the crash in the state of Zulia. It is not known whether there are any survivors. A Venezuelan aviation official said the pilots had contacted air traffic control to report engine problems. Contact with the MD-80 plane was lost soon after, in the area of Machiques, Francisco Paz said. Venezuelan officials believe the plane came down between 0300 and 0345 local time (between 0700 and 0745 GMT). "Residents in the area said they heard an explosion," Mr Paz said. "Air rescue teams are travelling to the area right now by air and by land."

Disasters. Never rains but it pours. Well it's a monsoon now. I'm staying on the ground.

[PatrickHenry]

Quote by: righthand Airliner comes down in Venezuela

Start a new topic! This is out of place in a thread talking about Spanish troops in Afghanistan... Unless you just wanta discuss plane crashes.