WASHINGTON, Oct. 21, 2004 An Air Force HH-60 helicopter crewmember was killed and two others were injured when their aircraft crashed during a medical evacuation mission about 11 p.m. Oct. 20 east of Shindand, Afghanistan.
An Afghan civilian who was the person being evacuated also was injured. The injured were taken to a medical facility at Kandahar Air Field. No information was available on their condition. In a written statement, military officials in Afghanistan said the accident was not the result of hostile action, and that the crash is under investigation. The coalition routinely uses helicopters to move personnel and supplies around Afghanistan. The HH-60 was not on a combat mission, officials said. Elsewhere in the country, three U.S. soldiers and one interpreter were wounded following the detonation of an improvised explosive device in the Naka district Oct. 20. One soldier was in critical condition, one was in serious condition, and the third soldier and the interpreter were in stable condition, officials said. Two Humvees were destroyed in the incident. (Compiled from news releases provided by the Coalition Press Information Center, Kabul, Afghanistan.)
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