28 killed in Tajikistan chopper crash

07.10.2010 [16:07]
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Baku, October 7 (AZERTAC). A Tajik military helicopter carrying members of an elite unit has crashed in eastern Tajikistan, killing 28 soldiers.

A military source said 21 soldiers from the state national security committee, Alfa special task force, and seven army soldiers died.

The helicopter went down in the Rasht region, 180km east of Dushanbe, the capital of the Central Asian country.

Tajik armed forces have been engaged in combat in the area after an assault on a military convoy on September 19 that killed 28 soldiers and wounded 12.

The press office of the National Guards, which operated the Russian-built MI-8 helicopter, confirmed only the deaths of four soldiers and would not comment on a larger death toll.

Technical failure was believed to have caused the crash, a spokesperson for the guards said, without giving details.

Other sources ruled out the possibility of an attack, saying the crash had been an accident.

28 killed in Tajikistan chopper crash

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