The crashed helicopter carried ten Australian commandos , and one soldier from the US (file photo) Statements did not identify the type of helicopter. This file photo shows an S-70A-9 Black Hawk that Diggers use for tactical transport. Less than two weeks after two Australian soldiers ( Diggers ) died in the explosion of a roadside bomb, three more Diggers and a US soldier were killed early yesterday morning in a helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan, while seven other soldiers are being treated for injuries. Australian Defence Force Chief, Angus Houston said in a statement this afternoon that two of the crash survivors are in a serious condition and will be moved with the other survivors to the US military hospital in Begram . The crash occurred at 03:39 yesterday local time (23:09 on Sunday, UTC ) in the north of Kandahar province . Although the cause is still unknown, Houston said "the terrain is rugged, the helicopters are often heavily loaded, it’s at high altitude and it was three o’clock in the morning. All of these factors will no doubt be considered". Houston confirmed that enemy fire was not to blame for the crash.
The crashed helicopter carried ten , and one soldier from the US (file photo) Statements did not identify the type of helicopter. This file photo shows an S-70A-9 Black Hawk that Diggers use for tactical transport. Less than two weeks after two Australian soldiers ( ) died in the explosion of a roadside bomb, three more Diggers and a US soldier were killed early yesterday morning in a helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan, while seven other soldiers are being treated for injuries. Angus Houston said in a statement this afternoon that two of the crash survivors are in a serious condition and will be moved with the other survivors to the US military hospital in . The crash occurred at 03:39 yesterday local time (23:09 on Sunday, ) in the north of . Although the cause is still unknown, Houston said "the terrain is rugged, the helicopters are often heavily loaded, it’s at high altitude and it was three o’clock in the morning. All of these factors will no doubt be considered". Houston confirmed that enemy fire was not to blame for the crash.
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Australian commandos
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Diggers
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Australian Defence Force Chief,
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Begram
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UTC
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Kandahar province