Helicopter crash in Afghanistan kills 16 civilian contractors

The victims were working for Western forces, but military officials rule out hostile fire as a cause. It is the second deadly crash in less than a week involving a Russian-made civilian helicopter.

Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan -- Sixteen civilians working under contract to Western forces were killed today when their helicopter plunged to the ground just after takeoff from NATO's main base in southern Afghanistan, military officials said. It was the second deadly crash in less than a week involving a Russian-made helicopter operated by a civilian contractor. It also came a day after an American F-15E jet fighter crashed in eastern Afghanistan, killing the two-member crew.

Military officials said they had ruled out hostile fire as a cause of today's helicopter crash, which took place at Kandahar airfield, a sprawling installation that is the hub of coalition operations in the south.

The crash, believed to be the most lethal to date involving civilian contractors, raised urgent new questions about the safety of the often aging fleet of helicopters operated by contractors from former Soviet republics.

Six Ukrainian contractors were killed when their helicopter went down Tuesday in Helmand province, adjacent to Kandahar province. The Moldovan contractor operating that craft, supported by Moldovan civil aviation authorities, said the Mi-26 helicopter was shot down by insurgents.

But military officials said the cause of that crash had not been established, and an investigation was continuing.

Tens of thousands of civilians from around the world work under contract to the Western forces in Afghanistan. Their jobs range from mundane support tasks such as construction and kitchen work to quasi-military roles that have caused Afghan authorities to call for tighter restrictions on their use of firearms.

Lt. Col. Paul Kolken, a Dutch spokesman for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's regional command in the south, said no military personnel were among the dead or injured in today's crash. He identified the helicopter as a Mi-8 transporter, which can carry as many as 24 people.

Russia's Interfax news agency said the craft was carrying 17 passengers and three crew members.

Civilian contractors and the Western military alike are heavily reliant on helicopters for ferrying supplies and personnel around Afghanistan. That is because ground travel is unsafe in much of the country, distances are great, and the terrain is extremely rough in many areas.

laura.king@latimes.com