8 US troops killed in chopper crash in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Eight coalition members were killed and 14 others wounded when their helicopter had a "sudden, unexplained loss of power and control" and crashed in southeastern Afghanistan on Sunday, military officials said.

All eight were U.S. personnel, according to news wire reports.

The CH-47 Chinook was transporting 22 people, including crew, at the time of the crash.

Rescuers found the 14 injured passengers after launching a search operation and transported them to the hospital.

U.S. Marine Maj. William Mitchell told CNN that the severity of the helicopter crash was compounded by the harsh terrain.

"This area of eastern Afghanistan does have some severe terrain and, of course, that does not help in making that controlled landing," Mitchell said.

"There was a catastrophic event on the ground, resulting a lot of injuries, and unfortunately those eight members of our team were lost today."

On Saturday, NATO troops in southern Afghanistan shot and killed a man they mistakenly thought was a suicide bomber, according to NATO's International Security Assistance Force.

The incident occurred near Kandahar Airfield, in Kandahar province, and involved ISAF personnel.

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Eight US soldiers have been killed and 14 wounded after a multinational force helicopter reported engine failure and crashed in southeastern Afghanistan, the US-led force said in a statement.

The crash occured early on Sunday and initially the US military said it expected "everyone to survive".

Lieutenant-Colonel David Accetta, a multinational force spokesman, said: "Eight service members were killed and 14 others were wounded. They were all US service members."

Tom Collins, a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force, said: "It was not enemy fire related. The pilot was able to radio in that he was having engine problems. We're confident it was not due to enemy action."

Bad weather

There were reports that the helicopter was a Chinook, which would have the capacity to carry around 30 people, but the multinational force would not say how many people were on board.

The helicopter went down near a road in the Shahjoi district of the province of Zabul, according to residents there.

Dilber Jan Arman, Zabul's provincial governor, said the helicopter fell in the Hassan Kariez area of Shahjoi.

The governor said it was possible that the "helicopter crash was due to bad weather. Locals said the road was sealed for about an hour and a half as foreign soldiers moved into the area.

Helicopter deaths

Taliban fighters are active in the southern province on the border with Pakistan.

International forces have lost several helicopters in recent years but only one is believed to have been shot down.

That aircraft was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade as it was coming in to land during a clash.

The last aircraft to crash was in early December, when a civilian helicopter went down between the southern city of Kandahar and Uruzgan province.

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