At least nine die in US Chinook crash

A US military helicopter crashed in bad weather in south-east Afghanistan today, killing nine people, including four American crew members.

An Afghan police official said the death toll could be higher, and that all on board the Chinook appeared to be American, but the US military would not confirm that or give the nationalities of the passengers.

Bad weather appeared to have caused the crash of the Chinook near Ghazni, 80 miles from the capital, Kabul, military spokeswoman Lieutenant Cindy Moore said.

Moore said the helicopter was one of two Chinooks flying to the main American base at Bagram when controllers lost radio contact.

“I have confirmed nine fatalities,” Moore said. ”Indications are it was bad weather and that there were no survivors.”

Abdul Rahman Sarjang, the chief of police in Ghazni, said at the crash site: “We collected nine bodies, though the Americans told us there were 13 people in total on board. They were all wearing American uniforms and they were all dead.”