Puma down in pakistan

[Sir Cumference]

I hear that a Puma with SA crew went down today in Pakistan. It is reported that the crew have been moved to hospital. Any more details to be had?

Hopefully they will recover fully.

SC

[erikagibson]

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan March 9 Sapa-AFP
^RED CROSS HELICOPTER CRASHES IN PAKISTAN, TWO INJURED
^(PICTURE)
^A Red Cross helicopter taking part in earthquake relief crashed
in PakistanZadministered Kashmir Thursday, injuring the pilot and
the other crew member, officials said.
^An International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) spokesman
said the Puma transport helicopter chartered from a South African
company came down near Muzaffarabad, the region‘s main city, and
was damaged.
^"One of our helicopters crashed today on its way from Abbottabad
to a village called Bandi near Muzaffarabad. The accident took
place at around midday," said spokesman Rashad Akhundov.
^"We do not know the reason for the crash. There were only two
helicopter crew onboard, one pilot and one crew member, but they
survived," he said.
^Akhundov said the pair were treated by an ICRC medical team and
were then sent to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Science
hospital in Islamabad.
^"Their condition is stable but the medical treatment is
ongoing," he added.
^One has serious injuries including leg fractures and an
abdominal wound while the other has superficial wounds, a doctor at
the hospital said. Both were conscious.
^The Puma had been operating in Pakistan since October 19 for
relief work.
^A Pakistani official said the helicopter was badly damaged in
the crash.
^Dozens of helicopters from around the world have transported aid
to the isolated region since the devastating October 8 South Asian
earthquake, in which at least 73,000 people died.
^In January a helicopter chartered by the ICRC for quake work
went missing over Afghanistan with seven people on board while
returning to its home base in Turkmenistan.
^No trace of the Mi-8 transport helicopter or its Turkmen crew
was ever found despite a major search by NATO and US forces in
Afghanistan.
^Six Pakistani soldiers were killed when an Mi-17 helicopter of
the Pakistan army crashed during relief operations in Kashmir last
October.
^The United Nations said on Wednesday that a second wave of
winter deaths following the earthquake had been averted, thanks
partly to the helicopter relief flights.