German military helicopter crashes, sinks, Marine crew unharmed

Source: Associated Press Publication date: Feb 17, 2000

PHILIPSBSURG, St. Maarten (AP) -- A German military helicopter involved in a NATO exercise crashed into the Caribbean and sank, but all four Marines survived unharmed.

The Lynx helicopter went down just before sunset Wednesday between the Dutch Caribbean islands of Curacao and Aruba in what Coast Guard spokesman Captain Idzerd van Humalda van Eysinga said was a "controlled ditch.

"The captain actually landed the helicopter on the waves. It didn't smash on the water surface," he added. He said the cause of the accident was being investigated.

A helicopter from the Dutch ship Hr. Ms. Van Speijk was not far off and sent a helicopter that picked up the four crewmen within 15 minutes, he said.

They were resting on their frigate, the Niedersachsen, Wednesday night.

The Van Speijk and the U.S. Navy's USS Mongoon tried to keep the German helicopter afloat for two hours, but it sank about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the west coast of Curacao in the southern Caribbean, Van Humalda van Eysinga said.

The NATO exercises, a big anti-drug operation, includes ships from Belgium, Canada, Britain and Spain and ends on Friday.

Publication date: Feb 17, 2000 ) 2000, NewsReal, Inc.

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-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), February 17, 2000

Answers

Nato,running Exersises and Manouvers in the Carribian,near Aruba?? Are they(WE) getting ready to intimidate and threaten the newly elected Government of Venezuela???

-- Concerned (yyy@y.why), February 17, 2000.

Link to an alleged photo of the Russian helicopter that was shot down in Chechnya.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), February 20, 2000.