Bogota: A Colombian general and five other members of its military have died in a helicopter collision at a base in the nation’s southwest.
A statement posted on the army’s website says five people were also injured when a military and a civilian helicopter crashed into one another in the province of Tolima. Local media reported that one chopper was taking off at the military base and the other was landing. Soldiers rushed to the crash site in Chaparral immediately after it happened in an effort to put out the fire and rescue trapped victims.
The army statement said Gen. Fernando Joya, commander of joint task force in southern Tolima, died in the crash Tuesday, along two colonels and three other servicemen.
President Alvaro Uribe asked for a minute of silence during a university meeting he was attending in Cali. He told the audience that the military personnel aboard the helicopter were "conducting a very important operation against terrorism." Soldiers at the base in Chaparral held a memorial service for the dead.
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