U.N. helicopter crash kills 24 people

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone - A U.N. helicopter crashed in flames on a remote hillside in Sierra Leone on Tuesday, killing all 24 peacekeepers, aid workers and others on board.

U.N. mission spokeswoman Sharon McPherson said victims aboard the Russian-made Mi-8 also included the Russian crew.

A passenger manifest said the passengers included 14 Pakistani peacekeepers, a Pakistani police officer and travelers from several African countries.

Others on the manifest were a U.N. volunteer from Ghana, three Sierra Leone citizens, a Tanzanian working for the International Red Cross and an Ugandan.

Authorities offered no immediate explanation for the accident, which left the wreckage in flames on a hillside in the West African country.

The United Nations has about 11,800 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone, overseeing the country's peace accord after a vicious 1991-2002 civil war. Fighting stopped by 2002, and there have been no known attacks on U.N. officials since.

The helicopter had taken off from the Sierra Leone capital of Freetown with 21 passengers and three crew, said Daniel Adekera of the United Nations.

The ultimate destination was the western city of Kailahun, after a stop in Yengama, near some of the main diamond fields in mineral-rich Sierra Leone.

Ground crews lost radio contact, and sent out a search crew within seven minutes, Adekera said.

World and national headlines

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times 490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 Contact the Times | Privacy Policy Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright