Six Israeli soldiers die in Romania helicopter crash: report

[Keit]

Here is the video of the search.
And here is Haaretz article that explains why Israelis were training so far away from home. Notice that they mention the needed expertise if they will ever have to fight in another country. Apparently there is a years long collaboration between Israel and Romania. And just a reminder, that Romania agreed to host US missiles shield after Poland's refusal.

_http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hSukkvmIUqia4-kNJ4Z5p2w4Dx6w

BUCHAREST — Six Israelis and one Romanian were killed on Monday when a military helicopter crashed in mountainous terrain in central Romania, local media said, quoting defence sources.

"Rescuers on the scene said there were no survivors," Ciprian Candea of the mountain rescue team based in Brasov told AFP.

But he could not immediately say how many bodies had been found, adding that access to the crash site was extremely difficult.

The defence ministry said six Israeli soldiers and one Romanian were on board the helicopter but did not confirm their deaths.

Defence ministry spokesman Constantin Spanu had previously told AFP one Romanian and two Israeli helicopters were taking part in the search and rescue operation.

Several dozen soldiers were also searching the area, he added.

Witnesses quoted by Antena 3 television channel said they had seen three helicopters flying above the mountain region around the city of Brasov.

"Smoke was coming out of one of the helicopters which started losing altitude," one of the witnesses was quoted as saying.

The helicopter was taking part in a joint military drill, Blue Sky 2010.

On July 18, the defence ministry announced an Israeli CH-53 helicopter participating in this exercise had made a crash landing after "sensing a failure aboard."

"Once the failure was fixed, the helicopter returned safely to the Boboc airbase," the ministry said.

Initial media reports had said US military personnel were on board the helicopter that crashed on Monday.

An Israeli military spokesman confirmed in a statement that a helicopter had gone down with seven people on board -- four pilots, two mechanics and a Romanian.

He did not confirm the death of six Israelis, but said their families had been informed of "the incident."

The statement added that Israel would send an aircraft with medical and search teams on board to Romania.

 

[Keit]

There is an article on Ynet that gives further details about Israel's military operations abroad:

Preparing for future wars

Israel Air Force deployments in various European states are always classified. The host country never knows what hides behind the training sessions held in its territory. Such sessions may take place in Hungary, Romania, Greece, Italy, Germany, Canada, and certainly in the US. In most cases, these training sessions do not include joint drills between Israel's Air Force and the hosting Air Force; rather, the host country provides our Air Force with a training platform for two weeks or longer.

While the host country always deploys observers and participates in joint briefings, no details hinting to an operational Israeli plan are ever revealed the exercise model or the flight profile. Israel also does not use classified weapons and special electronic warfare means that could hint to our intentions or capabilities.

The recent helicopter crash in Romania drew attention to the Air Force's activity in the country, yet beyond that, it exposed the fact that heavy transport choppers are an inseparable part of the Air Force's strategic, long-range doctrine. Until now, foreign reports focused on training sessions held by fighter jets that were reportedly meant to prepare us for a possible Iran strike. The helicopters somehow remained in the shadows, yet the Romania disaster brought them to light.

And what is interesting that PressTV site carried an article about the crash, mentioning DEBKAfile's (ShinBet or Mossad's "intelligence source") claim that the training was a preparation for the attack on Iran.

An open source intelligence report says the Israeli military helicopter that crashed in Romania last week was simulating a military attack on Iran.

On Monday, six Israeli soldiers and a Romanian flight captain aboard a CH-53 transport helicopter were killed when the chopper crashed in a mountainous region of central Romania.

The Jerusalem-based DEBKAfile cited a military source as saying on Friday that the crash had occurred in the last stage of a joint Israeli-US-Romanian military drill simulating an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.

On a straight line, the distance between Tel Aviv and Iran's nuclear facility in Nataz is 1,600 kilometers (1000 miles). The source said that the Israeli military is cooperating with counties like Romania, Greece, and Bulgaria, which have roughly the same distance with Israel.