UNAMSIL helicopter down in Sierra Leone
A UNAMSIL helicopter carrying 27 people [pax?] crashed this morning in the Kono diamond area while on a scheduled flight. No details are available because at the time of reporting, the crash site had not been reached by a ground party. However, the crash was reported by a local who said he saw the helicopter fall out of the sky, heard a bang and then a column of smoke rising in the air. The crash site has been located because UNAMSIL helicopters were seen orbiting the area.
This is the second UNAMSIL Russian helicopter crash in the past three years.