Global General

Venezuelan military helicopter crashes, killing 10 soldiers

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-08-29 08:11

CARACAS - All 10 soldiers on board were killed when their Venezuelan National Guard helicopter crashed while taking off on a counter-drug mission, military officials said Saturday.

National Guard Gen. Luis Alfredo Motta Dominguez said the helicopter was searching for a group of suspected drug traffickers when it went down Friday afternoon in southwestern Apure state near the Colombia border.

Dominguez said three officers and seven National Guard soldiers were killed in the accident near the town of Buena Vista.

It was unclear what caused the crash.