British helicopter crash which killed 5 UK servicemen

Five British service personnel killed in Afghanistan after a helicopter crashed near the Pakistan border appear to have been the victims of a “tragic accident”, the Ministry of Defence has said as quoted by The Independent newspaper. The men died when their Lynx Mk9 helicopter, commonly used by Royal Marines to conduct surveillance and reconnaissance missions using sensors, cameras and recording equipment, came down on Saturday in the Takhta Pul district of Kandahar province, 30 miles from the border with Pakistan. Ahmad Zia Durrani, a spokesman for the Kandahar police chief's office, said the helicopter was on a “training flight” when the tragedy occurred. Three of the servicemen were from the Army Air Corps, based at RAF Odiham in Hampshire, the regiment with which Prince Harry was an Apache helicopter commander. A Royal Air Force serviceman stationed at the same base also died, along with a member of the Army Reserve from 3 Military Intelligence Battalion, based in London. The next of kin of all five servicemen have been informed of their deaths but none has yet been named. It is the third biggest single loss of life of British troops since the conflict in Afghanistan began in 2001, and brings the total number of UK service personnel killed there to 453. Prime Minster David Cameron paid tribute to the men who lost their lives. He said: “My heart goes out to the families and friends of those killed in this terrible tragedy. "Every British fatality is a source of deep sadness. This latest incident, which has cost the lives of five UK service personnel, brings home to us all once again how our armed forces continue to put their lives on the line to help the people of Afghanistan. “I cannot pay high enough tribute to each and every one of them for the job that they do and the sacrifices that they make