Iraqi Helicopter Crashes During Aid Mission To Yazidis

Iraqi Helicopter Crashes During Aid Mission To Yazidis

An Iraqi helicopter crashed while delivering aid to Yazidi communities trapped on the Sinjar mountains on Tuesday, killing the pilot and wounding others on board, Iraqi officials said.

Kurdish officials told the New York Times that the helicopter delivered aid to Yazidis stranded on the Sinjar mountains, and was returning with some of the displaced on board when it crashed. Thousands of members of the Yazidi minority community fled to the mountains as Islamic State militants advanced into northern Iraq last week.

Kurdish news agency Rudaw said Vian Dakhil, a Yazidi member of the Iraqi parliament who last week made an emotional plea for her embattled community, was on board and wounded in the crash.

New York Times correspondent Alissa J. Rubin was also on the helicopter and suffered an apparent concussion and broken wrists, according to the newspaper.

An Iraqi military spokesman told Rudaw that the crash was caused by a "technical error."


An Iraqi military helicopter providing aid to civilians fleeing the militants crashed in near the Sinjar mountains in northern Iraq, killing the pilot, army spokesman Qassim al-Moussawi said in the statement. The helicopter crashed after too many civilians attempted to board it.

Lufti Abu Aun, correspondent for Britain's ITV News, posted a photo of those wounded in the crash being brought to safety.

Helicopter carrying injured from crashed helicopter in #Sinjar arrived Northern iraq @itvnews pic.twitter.com/LeF4STduLq

— lutfi abu-aun (@lutfiabuaun) August 12, 2014

This is the footage of Vian Dakhil, the Yazidi MP reportedly injured in the crash, making a plea for help in Iraqi parliament last week.

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