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Mali helicopter crash: Two Dutch UN peacekeepers die Mali helicopter crash: Two Dutch UN peacekeepers die
(about 3 hours later)
A Dutch UN helicopter has crashed near Gao in northern Mali, killing two crew members, the Dutch defence ministry has said. A Dutch UN helicopter has crashed near Gao in northern Mali, killing its two crew members, the Dutch defence ministry has said.
A commander of the UN force in Mali told Associated Press the crew of the Apache had performed a forced landing, but he did not know why. The Apache helicopter made a forced landing during a military exercise, the UN force in Mali said in a statement.
He added that the helicopter had not been attacked. The Dutch armed forces chief, Gen Tom Middendorp, said: "Everything points to this being an accident."
The aircraft is from the UN's Minusma mission, charged with peacekeeping operations in Mali. The aircraft was from the Minusma mission charged with peacekeeping since Islamist fighters were forced out.
Minusma has about 11,000 personnel on the ground in the country. One crew member survived the crash but died later of his injuries at a French field hospital, Gen Middendorp told a news conference in The Hague.
The mission took over security duties from France in 2013 after France had intervened to stop an Islamist insurgency a year earlier. Gen Middendorp an investigation into the cause of the crash was under way.
The Dutch defence ministry named the dead men as 30-year-old Capt Rene Zeetsen and 26-year-old 1st Lt Ernst Mollinger, adding that the families had been informed. "The Netherlands is profoundly touched by this terrible accident,'' Prime Minister Mark Rutte said.
Minusma has suffered regular attacks from militants: earlier this month, a rocket attack on a UN base in northern Mali killed three people. The Netherlands has 450 military personnel in Mali as part of the 11,000-strong UN mission.
Minusma took over security duties from France in 2013 after France had intervened to stop an Islamist insurgency a year earlier.
The mission has suffered regular attacks from militants. Earlier this month, a rocket attack on a UN base in northern Mali killed three people.