14 Britons die in Afghan air crash

12 April 2012

Fourteen British armed personnel died when the reconnaissance aircraft in which they were travelling crashed in southern Afghanistan. It was thought to have come down due to a technical fault 12 miles west of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan.

A spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said enemy action had been discounted at this stage.

An MoD spokesman said: "The Ministry of Defence is extremely sorry to have to confirm that the aircraft lost in Afghanistan supporting an ISAF mission was British, and that the crash led to 14 fatalities, 12 RAF, a Royal Marine and one from the Army."

Defence Secretary Des Browne described the news of the deaths as "dreadful and shocking" and said it appeared to have been a "terrible accident".

He said: "I can say all the indications are that this was a terrible accident and not the result of hostile action.

"This tragic incident should serve to remind us all of the risks the British military shoulder on all our behalf, across the world every day."

ISAF spokesman Major Luke Knittig said the aircraft had made an emergency call shortly before it disappeared.

The aircraft which crashed was a Nimrod MR2 reconnaissance plane, said the Ministry of Defence.

The crash is thought to be the biggest single loss of British troops in Iraq or Afghanistan since the war on terror began in November 2001.

Ten British armed personnel were killed when a Hercules C130K crashed near Baghdad on January 30 2005. The MoD has set up a helpline for worried relatives on 08457 800 900.

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