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American Morning

Bodies Recovered After Helicopter Crash in Philippines

Aired February 22, 2002 - 08:20   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to turn our attention now to the Philippines, where a U.S. Army helicopter crashed into the sea. Three bodies have been recovered so far, the first American casualties in what is scheduled to be a six-month mission to assist the Filipino army tracking down terrorists. The crash happened as the chopper left the island of Basilan, a stronghold of Muslim rebels led by Abu Sayyaf.

CNN's Maria Ressa is in Manila now. She brings us the very latest on this story.

Good morning -- Maria.

MARIA RESSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.

It's really quite sad in a sense that these men had really just finished the job that they had been doing all week -- that is to ferry the last of the 160 U.S. Special Forces that are to be deployed on the wartorn island of Basilan.

The two choppers had taken off, they were on their way back to their main base on Mahan Island (ph), which is northeast of Basilan. About 30 minutes before their scheduled arrival, eyewitnesses said they heard an explosion. One of the helicopters then burst into flames, crashed into the sea. The second helicopter radioed for help and immediately began search and recovery efforts. Filipino and U.S. military officials said there were no signs of hostile fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are no definitive indicators as to what caused the crash, but it could be a system of function. We don't think it's due to hostile fire because there are no known threatened groups in the area, especially since this happened while the chopper was crossing the waters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RESSA: The crash happened about 150 miles northeast of Zamboanga City. That's the headquarters of the Balikatan training exercises. They're controversial in the sense that these are only billed as training exercises, but they are taking place in actual combat areas.

A total of 660 U.S. troops are in the Philippines for six months, as you said. They're here only to train and assist the Philippine military in a mission that began months before September 11. That is to wipe out the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf and rescue their last three hostages that includes two Americans -- Paula.

ZAHN: Thanks for the update on the investigation, and we will come back to you as more information becomes available. Maria Ressa joining us from the Philippines this morning.

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