5 NATO personnel killed in helicopter crash at Kabul base

A military helicopter crashed in a non-hostile incident Sunday at the NATO base in the Afghan capital, Kabul, killing five coalition members and injuring five others, authorities said. A statement from the Resolute Support Mission did not give the nationalities of those killed and injured, but the British Ministry of Defense said two Royal Air Force members were among those killed when the Puma Mk 2 helicopter crashed while landing at the headquarters of the NATO Resolute Support Mission, which is training Afghan security forces.

[The helicopter] hit the cable of the security balloon over the base, It seemed like the cable was turned around the helicopter rotor.

Najibullah, an Afghan security guard who witnessed the incident.

The aircraft appeared to strike a monitoring balloon as it landed at the NATO base, according to Najibullah. The mission statement said the helicopter “crashed due to a non-hostile incident” around 4:15 p.m.