Aviation

27.7, crash, fatalities

Afghanistan: a helicopter crashed in bad weather in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan, killing all 16 people on board, including at least two American civilians. Afghan army and US-led coalition troops recovered 12 bodies and were searching for four more in the difficult, mountainous terrain where the civilian Mil Mi-8 helicopter crashed. The Dutch military has said two of its personnel were also on board, the first fatalities among Dutch forces in Afghanistan. The Russian-made civilian helicopter crashed about 25 miles north-east of Khost city. There was no indication of what caused the crash. The helicopter was operated by a logistics firm and rented by Fluor, a US based company doing construction work in Khost province, about 90 miles south of the capital, Kabul.