PARIS – France’s army says a French military helicopter has crashed inIvory Coast during a training mission, killing the pilot and injuringanother crew member.
The army says the 25-year-old officer died yesterday night of injuriessustained when his Gazelle helicopter crashed about 20 kilometers (12miles) east of Abidjan earlier in the day.
The army says the helicopter had been involved in a joint training exercisewith Ivory Coast forces. The circumstances of the crash are beinginvestigated. France has a supply point in Abidjan for its OperationBarkhane, which combats growing extremism in West Africa.
In October a cargo plane chartered by the French military crashed into theAtlantic Ocean on its approach to Abidjan, killing four crew members fromMoldova and injuring six others from Moldova and France.