Regional News
Helicopter Crash Kills 2 Cambodian Military Generals
Soldiers use a crane to lift an aft section of a helicopter retrieved from a pond following its crash in Prey Sar village at the outskirt of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, July 14, 2014
PHNOM PENH – Two generals who led the helicopter unit of Cambodia’s air force were killed in a crash Monday, along with two pilots, police said. Defense Minister Tea Banh, who rushed to the crash site in a muddy pond south of the capital, said a fifth person on the chopper was seriously injured.
Gen. Um Phy, deputy chief of staff of Cambodia’s air force, confirmed the casualty count and said the aircraft was a Chinese-made Z-9 helicopter. Authorities had previously said five people were killed.
It was not immediately clear what caused the accident, which police said was a training mission for new pilots.
Two of the dead men were a major general and a brigadier general, Phnom Penh Deputy Police Chief Chuon Narin said. An incident report filed by police at the scene said the generals were the head and deputy head of the helicopter unit, and the other two men were pilots. Military officials confirmed the men’s ranks, but not their positions. The survivor was not identified.
