IDF chopper crash near Israel's Haifa coast leaves two dead, one injured

Nearly two military pilots have lost their lives, after an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) helicopter crashed off the coast of northern Israel on Monday night. A third crew member who was on board was found with moderate injuries after the tragic incident and was sent to the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa for treatment, The Times of Israel reported. He is now considered to be in stable condition, according to the hospital, and was being treated in the shock ward before being transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) for additional treatment.  

As per the military service, the helicopter was involved in a training drill, however, no further details on the cause of the accident were provided. The incident has prompted the Israeli Air Force to begin a probe, Sputnik reported. The IDF chopper was sent out for the training exercise at 8 p.m., according to an air force official, and it crashed about an hour later. Soon after the accident, debris of the chopper began showing up on the shore, as per The Times of Israel.  

The rescue mission of the IDF Chopper Crash

Furthermore, during the rescue mission, the two crew members were retrieved from the water by IDF search-and-rescue teams, who attempted the resuscitation process but were unsuccessful to revive them. It is worth noting that the IDF's Unit 669, the navy's elite Flotilla 13 commando unit, and the navy's Yaltam scuba unit were among the search-and-rescue teams. 

The IDF announced in a statement that following the helicopter crash, the families of the victims had been notified. The survivor, according to the military, was a patrol officer. As per the media reports, these types of choppers, the ones which crashed, generally consist of a pilot, a co-pilot, and a naval officer. 

The chopper had gone down right off the Haifa coast in the Mediterranean Sea. The incident had occurred near enough to the seashore that city residents saw the fire from the shoreline and reported it to the police officials, the Times of Israel reported. Israeli Air Force Chief Amikam Norkin had suspended all helicopters of that kind which crashed and further stopped all air force training flights. A committee has been established to examine the tragedy by the order of Chief Norkin. 

Though the exact reason for the crash was unknown at the time, although it looked to be the consequence of a technical issue rather than an assault. In addition to this, the chopper that collapsed was a Eurocopter AS565 Panther, often called as an "Atalef," or bat, by the Israeli Air Force. The aircraft is mostly employed for missions at sea because it can land on Israeli Navy missile ships, notably the Sa'ar-5 class, The Times of Israel reported.  

(Image: AP/Twitter/@ IDF)