Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Air Force Team On Way to Afghanistan to Investigate Crash

Aired June 13, 2002 - 06:02   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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: An Air Force team is now on the way to Afghanistan to investigate the crash of a U.S. aircraft. CNN's Gary Tuchman is in Kabul this morning with details.

Gary, what happened?

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, the plane crashed in Paktika Province. That's in southern Afghanistan about 120 miles south of the capital of Kabul.

The MC-130 transport plane can carry 129 troops. This particular one had 10 troops, seven members of the Air Force and three Army special officers. We are told that three people were killed when the plane crashed shortly after takeoff, seven people were wounded. Two of the people killed were in the Air Force, one of the persons killed was in the Army. We are told there was one woman aboard. She was in the Air Force. She survived.

Of the seven people hurt, two are seriously hurt, but are in stable condition. They are being brought to Germany for treatment. The other five injured are being released. Some of the injuries are very minor, but three people were killed.

Now, early this morning, I was at the Bagram Air Base. That's the former Soviet base, which is now a U.S. base. We talked with officials there who knew a lot about what happened, but obviously are still wanting to find out what caused the plane to go down. They know it was not enemy fire. What they are saying is the plane took off on a landing strip in southern Afghanistan for a routine mission. Three miles after the takeoff, it then crashed. And an Air Force team is coming from the United States to investigate the cause of the crash.

One other item we want to tell you, something that also happened last night. U.S. troops on a routine mission in southern Afghanistan, walking in southern Afghanistan, encountered enemy fire, a burst of fire. They fired back. They saw some men run away, but they hit one man, who was wounded. He is in custody. He has been taken care of in a hospital, and they are now trying to identify the man who was part of a group who fired at these U.S. troops -- Carol, back to you.

COSTELLO: All right. Thanks for that update. Gary Tuchman live from Afghanistan this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.