An Irish soldier who was kidnapped by the Hizbullah in June died last night in a helicopter crash during a training flight with the UN forces in south Lebanon.
Sgt John Lynch (34), from Newbridge, Co Kildare, and four Italian crewmen died when the helicopter suddenly lost altitude and came down in a valley while on a flight between two Irish observation posts. A large explosion and several secondary blasts were heard.
The Irish soldier, who was based at the Curragh before beginning his current 12month tour of duty in Lebanon, was married with two children. He and two Italian peacekeepers had been kidnapped by the Hizbullah in Beirut and held overnight before being released unharmed.
The Minister for Defence, Mr Andrews, said he learned with deep regret of the tragedy and extended the sympathy of the Government to Sgt Lynch's family. He said he had made the "supreme sacrifice" while serving the cause of peace with the UN.
First indications were that the accident was due to "mechanical or technical" failure, according to an Army Press Office spokesman. He said there were no reports of ground activity in the area at the time. The crash happened at 7.15 p.m. Irish time, or 9.15 p.m. locally, when darkness had fallen. The Italian air force helicopter, with the four Italian crewmen and Sgt Lynch on board, had landed at an Irish observation post called 6-44 at At Tiri. It took off in a northerly direction for another Irish post, 6-41, at a location known as Hill 880.
The Army spokesman said that after taking off, the helicopter lost altitude and disappeared. It came down in a valley before the explosions were heard. The flight had originated from the Unifil headquarters at Naquora, where up to 3,000 troops are deployed and where Sgt Lynch was based.
Irish soldiers were first on the scene of the crash. All five victims were pronounced dead at the scene and armoured ambulances dispatched by Irish Battalion Headquarters were used to transport the bodies to Naquora. However, progress in bringing the bodies to the UN headquarters was hampered by bouts of shelling in the area, not connected to the crash, which erupted late last night.
Israeli defence forces personnel assisted the Irish Army in lighting up the scene as the bodies were recovered.
The helicopter had been due to visit a number of Irish posts, situated about 20 minutes' flight from the Naquora headquarters. Soldiers based there were required to do a certain amount of night-time flight training, the Army spokesman said. It was thought likely that Sgt Lynch joined the flight for that purpose.
A Unifil spokesman said the crash was "very probably due to technical failure" as no acts of war or shots were reported at the time of the explosions.
The accident was the first fatal crash of a Unifil aircraft since the peacekeeping force was dispatched to south Lebanon in 1978.
As well as his wife, Rosario, and two children, Sgt Lynch is survived by his parents. He had been in the Army for 16 years and had done three other tours of duty in Lebanon. He was due home in October.
