An African Union helicopter crashed Wednesday at the airport in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, killing at least three people, police and witnesses told AFP.
The aircraft was part of the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), tasked with fighting the Al-Shabaab militant group.
The helicopter, operated by the Ugandan contingent, "crash-landed" at around 7:30 am local time (0430 GMT) at Mogadishu's Aden Abdulle International Airport after departing from Baledogle military airbase, AUSSOM said. "Three of the eight passengers on board were immediately rescued," and were rushed to the AUSSOM hospital, it said in a statement, without giving any details on their injuries.
It added search and rescue operations were underway to retrieve the remaining passengers and crew. "There were several people recovered from the scene of the crash, three of them were already dead, and they were carried in stretchers," police officer Abdi Ali told AFP.
