13 dead in two helicopter crashes
A military helicopter went down while airlifting bodies from an earlier chopper accident, officials in the Philippines said today. The two crashes killed 13 people.
The first helicopter crashed into an expanse of fish farms on the western island of Palawan on Friday afternoon, killing all six people on board.
Philippine Air Transportation Office Chief Adalberto Yap said the French-made private helicopter spun out of control and crashed outside the village of Manalo, some 375 miles southwest of Manila.
Yap said the aircraft, belonging to the Philippine Jaka Aviation company, was returning to the provincial capital of Puerto Princesa on Friday afternoon when it crashed.
An air force Sikorsky chopper sent to transport the bodies to the Palawan capital Puerto Princesa crashed just after dark, apparently after hitting utility lines, the military said today. All seven people on board were killed.
