U.S. copter crashes, crew rescued

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, NOV. 3. There were no casualties in the helicopter crash inside Afghanistan, the Pentagon said today, even as the Defence Department said the incident occurred due to bad weather.

``Four members of the crew were injured and none of the injuries were life-threatening. The entire crew has been safely recovered out of Afghanistan and those injured are now receiving medical care,'' the Pentagon said.

According to the version of events put out here, the helicopter went down in very bad weather. Another helicopter went to the crash site and recovered the entire crew. Later, carrier- based F-14 jets destroyed the damaged helicopter. This is standard procedure so that the high-tech equipment does not end up in the hands of hostile forces.

Not much is being said here as to where the helicopter crashed or what type of equipment it was carrying. The general impression is that it was carrying special forces and it went down in freezing rain.

The Pentagon is not saying it in as many words but weather is becoming a major factor in the movement and dropping of special forces inside Afghanistan. There are fewer than 100 American troops inside Afghanistan, most of them believed to be elite commandos tracking Osama bin Laden and directing air strikes from the front lines.

`50 soldiers killed'

Reuters reports from Kabul:

The Taliban said they had shot down the helicopter on Friday night in an operation south of the capital, Kabul, killing up to 50 U.S. soldiers. The helicopter was brought down after the Taliban opened fire on it in the Nawoor district of Ghazni province while it was trying to rescue another aircraft that had crashed in the area, said Qari Fazil Rabi, an Information Ministry official.

``Altogether between 40 to 50 Americans have died in both these incidents,'' he said. ``You can see the bodies of the Americans on board the helicopters with their uniforms.''

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