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Times Journalist Is Injured in Iraqi Helicopter Crash Times Journalist Is Injured in Iraqi Helicopter Crash
(35 minutes later)
ERBIL, Iraq — A helicopter carrying aid from Iraq’s Kurdish autonomous government to stranded Yazidi refugees in the Sinjar mountains of northern Iraq crashed on Tuesday, killing the pilot and injuring other passengers, including a New York Times journalist on assignment for the newspaper. ERBIL, Iraq — A helicopter carrying aid from Iraq’s Kurdish autonomous government to stranded Yazidi refugees in the Sinjar mountains of northern Iraq crashed on Tuesday, killing the pilot and injuring other passengers, including a Yazidi member of Parliament and a New York Times journalist.
Alissa J. Rubin, 56, The Times’s Paris bureau chief and a longtime war correspondent, suffered an apparent concussion and broken wrists but was conscious, she confirmed when contacted briefly by cellphone. Adam Ferguson, 35, a freelance photographer working for The Times who was accompanying her, said via cellphone that he was not injured. Alissa J. Rubin, 56, The Times’s Paris bureau chief and a longtime war correspondent, apparently suffered a concussion, at least one broken wrist and possibly some broken ribs but was conscious. Adam Ferguson, 35, a freelance photographer working for The Times who was accompanying Ms. Rubin, said via cellphone text that he suffered a sore jaw and some minor bumps.
The helicopter, which had delivered emergency aid and picked up some Yazidi evacuees, crashed shortly after it took off, survivors said. The helicopter, which had delivered emergency aid and picked up some Yazidi evacuees, crashed shortly after it took off from the remote mountainous region, survivors said.
A top official with the Kurdish regional government said two rescue helicopters later took the survivors of the crash to safety. They were transferred to ambulances that headed to the city of Dohuk, about 20 miles outside Erbil, the Kurdish regional capital. Aside from the pilot, there were no other fatalities. The Kurdish official attributed the crash to an accident but the precise cause was not immediately clear. A top official with the Kurdish regional government said two rescue helicopters later took the survivors of the crash to safety on a military base of the pesh merga, the Iraqi Kurdish military force. They were then transferred to ambulances that headed to the city of Dohuk, about 20 miles outside Erbil, the Kurdish regional capital. Aside from the pilot, there were no other fatalities. The Kurdish official attributed the crash to an accident but the precise cause was not immediately clear.
Other Kurdish officials said the survivors had been under no danger at the crash site, and there was no evidence that Sunni extremists who have besieged the Yazidis in the area were anywhere nearby. Kurdish media said about 20 passengers were aboard when the helicopter crashed, including Vian Dakhil, a Yazidi member of Iraq’s Parliament, who had helped draw international attention to the plight of the thousands of Yazidis trapped in the Sinjar mountains by the Sunni extremists of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Ms. Dakhil’s condition was not immediately known.
Other Kurdish officials said the survivors had been under no danger at the crash site, and there was no evidence that Sunni militants were anywhere nearby.
Dean Baquet, The Times’s executive editor, said in a statement that both Ms. Rubin and Mr. Ferguson were being evacuated from the region to receive medical care. “Alissa is a close friend and one of our most esteemed journalists,” Mr. Baquet said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with both Alissa and Adam.”