A spokesman from the MoD has said "I can
confirm that a C130 aircraft has crashed, we do not have any
further details at this time. Wreckage from the aircraft is
scattered over a large area. No details have yet been established
about what caused the C-130 Hercules transport plane to come
down.
Prime Minister Tony Blair has said today, "There were
fatalities when a British military transport plane crashed
north of Baghdad in Iraq". Blair didn't give details
of the British deaths, but paid tribute to the troops who
died when the Hercules aircraft crashed earlier Sunday, saying:
"This country and the wider world will never forget them.''
Wing Commander Nigel Arnold from RAF Lyneham said: "We
are in the process of contacting the families of those involved
and until that is done I'm, afraid we will not be releasing
any details of the crew."
The plane was believed to be en route from Baghdad
to the city of Balad
and crashed about 25 miles north-west of Baghdad. Hercules
planes have an excellent safety record, according to Paul
Beaver of Jane's Defence Weekly. A similar RAF Hercules crashed
in Kukes, Albania in June 1999 and all crew members escaped
this accident. Details click
here
Military sources in Iraq said the aircraft is primarily used
to ferry troops from the British sector headquarters in Basra
to the Iraqi capital. The transport plane rarely travels north
of Baghdad. Nor was there any confirmation on what caused
the Hercules to crash, although rebel mortar or rocket fire
is a constant danger for military aircraft.
A spokeswoman from the Combined Press Information Center
in Baghdad (CPIC) could not say whether the plane, based at
RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire, had been carrying troops or equipment.
It’s too early to speculate on the cause - we’re
dealing with the immediate aftermath of the incident at the
moment," she said.
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