Sep. 28 (EUROPA PRESS) –
At least ten people died on Tuesday after the Ugandan Army helicopter in which they were traveling crashed in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) after delivering food to the troops participating in the operation that both countries have deployed against the Ugandan Democratic Forces (ADF).
The spokesman for the Ugandan Army, General Felix Kulayigye, has confirmed that the Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter had suffered an accident in eastern DRC, although he has not been able to specify the exact number of casualties. Sources cited by the newspaper ‘The Daily Monitor’ have spoken of more than ten deaths.
The accident occurred after the helicopter’s tail rotor hit a tree, causing it to spin out of control before crashing in the vicinity of the troops to whom food had been delivered shortly before, as reported by sources. high-ranking military to the aforementioned newspaper.
Among the deceased is the flight instructor Yuri Vishikvi, a Ukrainian national, and the pilot, Patrick Arinaitwe, a captain in the Ugandan Army, according to what this same medium has learned. The deceased, as well as the five injured in the incident, have been transferred to Bombo Military Hospital on the outskirts of Kampala, according to a source from the House of Representatives on condition of anonymity.
Uganda has deployed soldiers to eastern DRC under an agreement with Kinshasa to deal with increased attacks by the ADF, which have sworn allegiance to the Islamic State jihadist group and have been accused of the massacre of hundreds of civilians in this part of the country and several attacks in Uganda.
The incident took place three days after another helicopter crashed into a house in the city of Fort Portal, in southwestern Uganda for technical reasons. The country’s president, Yoweri Museveni, has tasked Air Force Deputy Commander General Charles Okidi to lead an investigation into how and why these accidents occurred.
