4 Spanish Marines killed in helicopter crash

posted on: Apr 17 2010 12:3 by Royston. Viewed 404 times.


Four Spanish soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash as they flew over a mountainous area of Haiti, near the border with the Dominican Republic, according to Spanish sources and confirmed by the UN.

The helicopter was assigned to the Navy ship "Castilla" and belonged to the "Hispaniola" group. The victims. all Spanish, were identified as Commander Luis Fernando Torija Sagospe, Marine lieutenant Francisco Forne Calder�n, Ensign Manuel Dormido Garrosa, and Marine Major Eusebio Villatoro Costa.

The accident occurred Thursday evening at about 9:40pm as the crew were flying back from the Dominican Republic after collecting equipment sent from Spain.

The statement said the helicopter was flying with another but lost contact in low visibility. A search and rescue mission was launched and wreckage  was found on the slope of a mountain with difficult access, near the Haitian town of Fond-Verettes.

Spanish troops have since managed to reach the crash site and are working to recover the bodies and transfer them back to the �Castilla�.

The  "Castilla", with 450 soldiers on board, has been in Haiti since early February on a mission of humanitarian aid to alleviate the effects of the earthquake that devastated the capital Port-au-Prince, and several neighboring towns on Jan. 12 .

The Spanish defense minister, Carme Chacon, will travel to Haiti on Saturday, accompanied by the Chief of Staff of Defense (JEMAD) Gen. Jose Julio Rodriguez, to discover the details of the accident.