President Bush yesterday expressed his deep regret at the weekend helicopter crash in which seven US troops and nine Vietnamese were killed while searching for the remains of servicemen missing during the Vietnam War. The tragedy was a "terrible loss for the United States", said Mr Bush, who has spent the last week negotiating with China for the release of 24 US aircrew stranded on the Chinese island of Hainan.
The Mi-17 helicopter was chartered from the Vietnamese air force's Northern Flight Service Co. It crashed into a rocky hillside in Bo Trach district of the central province of Quang Binh, about 280 miles south of Hanoi, on Saturday afternoon, killing all on board.
Nearly 1,500 US servicemen are still listed as missing in action in Vietnam. Washington has made accounting for them its highest priority in relations with its former enemy, Hanoi. It conducts regular searches, which often involve helicopter flights carrying both US military and civilian personnel and Vietnamese military and civilians.
A Vietnamese local government official said it was very misty at the time of the crash and local people had heard the helicopter engine labouring. "They first heard the sound of the helicopter engine, then it quietened down a bit," he said. "Then they heard a loud roar from the engine followed by a crashing sound and then an explosion." The helicopter was piloted by a Vietnamese air force officer.
The US Defence Department confirmed seven US military personnel and nine Vietnamese were killed in the crash. A US embassy spokesman said he had heard no details as to the cause of the crash. The official said the helicopter had initially been scheduled to take off from the northern town of Vinh in the morning but had been delayed by poor visibility. It eventually left Vinh at 3.15 p.m. (7.15 a.m. Irish time) en route to the central town of Hue.