Ten People Feared Dead in S.Lanka Helicopter Crash

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Saturday September 16 5:16 AM ET

Ten People Feared Dead in S.Lanka Helicopter Crash

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Up to 10 people, including Sri Lanka's shipping minister Mohammed Ashraff, were feared killed when an air force helicopter crashed in central Sri Lanka on Saturday, air force officials said.

They said the Russian-made MI-17 helicopter came down in a remote part of the Kegalle district, some 45 miles northeast of the capital Colombo and that three charred bodies had been recovered.

``There are flames reported to be coming from the crash site,'' said army spokesman, Brigadier Sanath Karunaratne. Officials said the minister was among 10 people thought to be on board the helicopter when it crashed.

Senior ministers are being transported by helicopters across the island to campaign in Sri Lanka's October 10 general elections.

It was not immediately clear why the helicopter came down, but the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have in the past shot down several air force helicopters and other aircraft.

In February, two people were killed when a Sri Lanka air force Bell 212 helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing after coming under heavy fire from the LTTE.

The rebels are fighting for a separate Tamil state in Sri Lanka's north and east.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000916/wl/crash_srilanka_dc_1.html

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), September 16, 2000


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