Dhaka, Oct 20 : Four Bangladesh Air Force officers were killed as a military helicopter crashed over a remote south eastern town close to the Bangladesh-Myanmar (Burma) border, defence ministry sources said. The sources said that another Air Force officer on board the MI-17 helicopter remained missing since the weekend accident which happened in the Buddhist tribal town of Ukhia, 430 kilometres southeast of the capital Dhaka.
Witnesses said that the helicopter lost altitude and hit a television tower in the town before breaking into bits and pieces and catching fire 45 minutes after taking off from Zahirul Huq air force base in southern Chittagong city.
Initial inquiry reports said that the crash was caused by a technical fault. Among the dead, is an Air Force wing commander who was leading a routine flying mission in the region. Bureau Report