Five killed in British helicopter crash

October 12, 2015 1:58 PM

The incident, described as "non-hostile," is being investigated, it added.

Five killed in British helicopter crash in Afghanistan

Five members of NATO's international support mission in Afghanistan were killed and five injured when a British military helicopter crashed in the capital, Kabul, officials said on Monday.

NATO's Resolute Support mission said in a statement that two British service members, two U.S. service members and one French contracted civilian were killed as a result of Sunday's crash at its headquarters in Kabul.

Britain's Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on its website that two Royal Air Force personnel had been killed when a British Puma Mk 2 helicopter crashed while landing at the base.

"We're deeply saddened by the loss of our teammates," Brig. Gen. Wilson A. Shoffner, deputy chief of staff for communications, said in the Resolute Support statement on Monday afternoon.

In a separate incident, two Afghan pilots were killed and five people onboard were injured when a small Afghan army plane crashed in the central province of Bamyan on Monday afternoon, said Abdul Rahman Ahmadi, spokesman for the provincial governor.

A Ministry of Defense spokesman confirmed that an Afghan army plane had crashed due to a technical problem, but could not immediately confirm the casualties.

NATO's combat mission in Afghanistan has ended but around 12,000 mostly U.S. troops remain in Afghanistan as part of Resolute Support, focused on training Afghan security forces.