16 Vietnamese army officers died in helicopter accident

A helicopter blew up on Wednesday afternoon in an island in Vietnam's central Thanh Hoa province, killing all 16 local army officers on board, including a lieutenant general and a major general, a local military officer told Xinhua on Thursday.

"The helicopter exploded in the Me island after departing from central Nghe An province. It must have been collided with an object when its pilots were trying to make a turn," said the officer from the Staff Section of the Vietnam's Military Zone No.4,who identified herself as Dao.

"The helicopter could have collided with a lighthouse or a mountain cliff," she noted.

"The people on the helicopter planned to visit military officers and soldiers in the Me island to inspect their operation as well as to send greetings to them ahead the upcoming Lunar New Year Festival," she said, adding that all the bodies have so far been found.

The victims include lieutenant general Truong Dinh Thanh, commander-in-chief, major general Nguyen Van Tuan, deputy commander-in-chief, four colonels, two senior lieutenant colonels and a lieutenant colonel of the Military Zone No. 4; a colonel and two majors of the Military Command of Nghe An; a captain who was areporter of the zone's newspaper; and three pilots.

Source: Xinhua