Five soldiers killed in helicopter crash in Algeria

ALGIERS. KAZINFORM A military helicopter crashed on Sunday overnight in the province of Tipaza, west of the Algerian capital of Algiers, killing all the five soldiers on board, local media reported, according to Xinhua .

The Algerian navy helicopter crashed at a farm in Hamr el Ain during a reconnaissance mission. The aircraft lost control after hitting a high voltage electric post, Ennahar TV channel reported, quoting local eye witnesses.

No Defense Ministry statement has yet been issued to provide more details about the incident.

In March 2016, the last military helicopter crash in the North African country killed 12 soldiers and injured two others.

The past three years have seen several crashes of Algerian military aircraft, the most serious of which was a C-130 Hercules air force aircraft crash in February 2014, killing 77 servicemen.