A military helicopter has crashed in the eastern part of the island nation of Sri Lanka. Six people have been killed. Four of them are commandos. There were about 12 people on board the helicopter.
The country’s army has reported this information.
A Sri Lankan army official told the media that the Bell 212 model helicopter was taking part in a demonstration flight in the Maduruwa area, east of the capital Colombo, and was preparing for a ‘rope jump’. The helicopter suddenly lost control and crashed into the lake.
The soldiers in the helicopter were supposed to demonstrate the ‘fast-roping’ military technique at a special forces graduation ceremony, where the helicopter stopped at the same height as the roof and the soldiers descended by rope.
The army official said that four commandos and two air force gunners were killed in the accident. The remaining six survived with minor injuries.
Meanwhile, the event was canceled after the helicopter crash and an investigation was launched to find out the cause of the accident.
The report said that this is the worst accident for the Sri Lankan air force in recent times. Earlier in January 2020, a Chinese-made Y-12 aircraft crashed in the Haputale area, killing four crew members.
And in September 2000, an Mi-17 crashed in the worst helicopter accident in Sri Lanka’s history, killing 15 people. Source: Reuters, AFP