Two U.S. Marines Killed in Helicopter Crash in Afghanistan

Home>>World

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, January 21, 2002

Two U.S. Marines Killed in Helicopter Crash in Afghanistan

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

A U.S. helicopter crashed in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan on Sunday, killing two Marines and injuring the other five on board. It was the third fatal crash of a U.S. military aircraft in the campaign.

The CH-53E Super Stallion crashed about 40 miles south of Bagram air base after taking off from the former Soviet base outside the capital, Kabul. It was flying with another helicopter to resupply American forces, military officials said.

Marine spokesman 1st Lt. James Jarvis said there was no initial indication of hostile file, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the cause of the crash appeared to be a mechanical failure.

The survivors were flown from the crash site to Bagram and on to another, undisclosed site in Afghanistan for treatment, said Capt. Tom Bryant, a U.S. Army spokesman at Bagram. The Pentagon said their injuries were not life-threatening.

In Washington, the Pentagon identified the dead as Staff Sgt. Walter F. Cohee III, 26, from Wicomico, Md., a communications navigations systems technician, and Sgt. Dwight J. Morgan, 24, from Mendocino, Calif., a helicopter mechanic.

The men were assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, which is part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing based in Marine Corps Air Station, Miramar, Calif.

After the crash, U.S. officials would not say where the helicopter went down, but the flight was thought to be supplying small Special Forces units scouring remote areas for Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters still on the run.

The worst single casualty toll for U.S. forces in the Afghanistan campaign was Jan. 9, when all seven Marines aboard a refueling tanker died in a fiery crash in the mountains of southwestern Pakistan. The cause of that crash remains under investigation.

Questions?Comments? Click here

Pentagon Confirms Seven Marines Die in KC-130 Crash in Pakistan

Military Plane Crashes in U.S.

Bodies of Five US Marines Killed in Plane Crash Recovered in Pakistan