Air crash claims life of first US servicewoman

Pakistani troops today sealed off the site where a US military tanker plane crashed into a mountain, killing all seven US marines on board - including the first servicewoman to die in the Afghan conflict .

The wreckage lay three miles from Pakistan’s Shamsi military air base, a forward operations point used by the US military in the war in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Khawar Jamal, who lives near the base, spoke of hearing a ‘‘deafening noise’’ as the plane struck the mountain. ‘‘Then we saw flames of fire,’’

A Pakistani military spokesman said: ‘‘The rescue operation is still going on. US officials are examining debris at the site of the incident and we are extending them full support.’’

He denied reports the four-engine KC-130 tanker, normally used by the marines for refuelling helicopters in-flight, had damaged any parked aircraft at the base, saying it came down far from the runway.

The area is in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, a remote area of rugged mountains and vast deserts.

The seven deaths were the worst US casualty toll from the war in Afghanistan and included the first American woman killed, Sergeant Jeannette Winters, 25, from Illinois.

The cause of the crash was unknown. Pentagon officials said there were no signs that the plane was brought down by hostile action.

A spokesman for the US Central Command in Florida, responsible for US military operations in Pakistan and the surrounding region, said the KC-130 Hercules took off from Jacobabad, Pakistan, and was making multiple stops.

As well as refuelling, the KC-130 is also used for troop and cargo delivery, evacuation missions and special operations support. It normally carries a six man crew of two pilots, a navigator, flight engineer, mechanic and loadmaster.