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U.S. Military Helicopter Crashes in Afghanistan

Aired April 10, 2002 - 14:27   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We have more on that U.S. AH-64 Apache helicopter that experienced a hard landing in a remote area of Afghanistan. Our Ryan Chilcote is on the line and brings us more from that area -- Ryan?

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kyra. Good afternoon. I'm at the Kandahar airbase and I can tell you that Apache attack helicopter is a two-seater and it crashed, injuring both U.S. soldiers onboard, in eastern Afghanistan. Those two soldiers, believed to be from the 101st airborne, were flying a combat mission when the helicopter went down.

Their injuries are not thought to be life-threatening. Coalition forces are currently securing that helicopter at the crash site. That means they've sent teams out there to secure the area around the helicopter. The reason for the accident is still unknown. Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right, Ryan. Do you know if the mission was a success? Or did it have to come to a halt?

CHILCOTE: We don't know that. Very little is known about the mission. When they say that they were flying a combat mission, that could mean several things. They could have been flying what's called overwatch, protecting their military assets, maybe troops on the ground or other helicopters in the area. Or they could have been on a surveillance mission. So it's not at all clear what exactly combat mission they were on, and whether they succeeded in doing what they wanted to or not.

PHILLIPS: All right, CNN's Ryan Chilcote from Kandahar airbase, thank you.

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