BATSUB helicopter crashes near Ladyville

Details are sketchy tonight but reports are that around noon today British soldiers attached to BATSUB were injured in a helicopter crash. According to our sources, the army personnel were engaged in a training exercise using a Bell 212 helicopter, also known as a Huey, to transport external cargo between the helipad at Price Barracks and a site on the NOVA property off the Northern Highway, approximately three miles away. However, on one of the runs, it is believed that a strong gust of wind caused the cargo to become unbalanced, which tipped the nose of the aircraft and rendered the controls useless. Although the chopper plummeted to the ground we understand that the crew was able to escape the wreckage. Within minutes a second helicopter arrived at the crash site and airlifted the men to BATSUB’s medical centre at Price Barracks. The extent of their injuries has not been released by the British military. According to local experts, this is the first time a BATSUB helicopter has crashed in Belize.