Kornholio
31st Jan 2005, 07:45
January 31, 2005 - 7:07PM
An Australian airman has become the nation's first military casualty in Iraq, killed while serving with Britain's Royal Air Force.
Flight Lieutenant Paul Pardoel, 35, from Victoria, died when a British C-130 Hercules transport plane crashed north of Baghdad overnight (AEDT), killing up to 15 troops.
Navigator Flight Lieutenant Pardoel was a former member of the RAAF who had enlisted with the RAF, Australian defence officials said tonight.
He is the first Australian military casualty in the Iraq conflict.
Australian soldiers have been injured in the invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq but none have been killed.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) spokeswoman confirmed Flight Lieutenant Pardoel had dual Australian-British nationality and had been living in Britain with his family.
Flight Lieutenant Pardoel was with the RAF's 47 squadron at RAF Lyneham in Britain.
"No further details of the incident are presently known and his next of kin here in Australia have been informed as well as his family in the UK," a spokesman for the British High Commission in Canberra said.
Between 10 and 15 British troops are believed to have been killed in the crash, which occurred overnight Australian time.
The cause of the crash and the exact death toll were not released by British officials.
However, Britain's Press Association news agency said between 10 and 15 troops were killed.
The crash occurred around 5.25pm yesterday (0125 AEDT today) about 30 kilometres north-west of Baghdad - soon after polls closed in Iraq's elections.
A spokeswoman from the Royal Air Force's Lyneham base in Wiltshire, south-west England - home of the plane and its crew - was not able to confirm how many people were on board.
Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) flies several versions of the American-built C-130 Hercules aircraft, which is mainly used to carry troops, passengers and freight.
The older C-130K model has a crew of five or six and carries up to 128 troops.
The newer C-130J version has a crew of three and can also carry up to 128 infantry.
The RAF has some 60 Hercules aircraft, about half of which are newer planes.
AAP, PA
An Australian airman has become the nation's first military casualty in Iraq, killed while serving with Britain's Royal Air Force.
Flight Lieutenant Paul Pardoel, 35, from Victoria, died when a British C-130 Hercules transport plane crashed north of Baghdad overnight (AEDT), killing up to 15 troops.
Navigator Flight Lieutenant Pardoel was a former member of the RAAF who had enlisted with the RAF, Australian defence officials said tonight.
He is the first Australian military casualty in the Iraq conflict.
Australian soldiers have been injured in the invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq but none have been killed.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) spokeswoman confirmed Flight Lieutenant Pardoel had dual Australian-British nationality and had been living in Britain with his family.
Flight Lieutenant Pardoel was with the RAF's 47 squadron at RAF Lyneham in Britain.
"No further details of the incident are presently known and his next of kin here in Australia have been informed as well as his family in the UK," a spokesman for the British High Commission in Canberra said.
Between 10 and 15 British troops are believed to have been killed in the crash, which occurred overnight Australian time.
The cause of the crash and the exact death toll were not released by British officials.
However, Britain's Press Association news agency said between 10 and 15 troops were killed.
The crash occurred around 5.25pm yesterday (0125 AEDT today) about 30 kilometres north-west of Baghdad - soon after polls closed in Iraq's elections.
A spokeswoman from the Royal Air Force's Lyneham base in Wiltshire, south-west England - home of the plane and its crew - was not able to confirm how many people were on board.
Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) flies several versions of the American-built C-130 Hercules aircraft, which is mainly used to carry troops, passengers and freight.
The older C-130K model has a crew of five or six and carries up to 128 troops.
The newer C-130J version has a crew of three and can also carry up to 128 infantry.
The RAF has some 60 Hercules aircraft, about half of which are newer planes.
AAP, PA