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UN helicopter wreckage found

    ABIDJAN

    The wreckage of a helicopter belonging to the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the capital Freetown some two weeks ago has been found, UNAMSIL reported on Thursday.

    Recovery efforts by a Ukrainian team were going on to salvage the remains of the Russian-built MI-8 aircraft which were located about 600-700 metres offshore, at a depth of 25 metres, it added.

    Seven UNAMSIL personnel were killed after the helicopter, en route to Lungi airport north of Freetown, plunged into the sea shortly after take-off on 7 November. Three bodies have been recovered.

    The crash was the second involving a helicopter in Sierra Leone in less than a month. On 19 October a British army officer, working with the UK-led military assistance and training team, died after a Sierra Leone Army Mi-24 helicopter gunship crashed near the eastern town of Kenema during a routine reconnaisance mission.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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