US choppers drop ‘fiery objects’ off Zambales island

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga- At least 19 people claimed having witnessed four US CH-53 Super Stallion helicopters drop what they described to be black, fiery objects in waters off Patipot Island in Sta. Cruz, Zambales last Friday morning.

The choppers earlier landed on a ricefield in the coastal barangay of Lucapon South, also in Sta. Cruz town, the powerful heat from their exhausts burning at least two hectares of harvest-ready palay, according to barangay councilman Jaime Dulay.

The local folk said the choppers were marked "US Marines," three of them with numbers 12, 18 and 00.

A source from the Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFACOM) confirmed the incident, saying the choppers were en route to the US base in Otema, Japan after taking part in the joint CARAT (Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training) exercises in Subic Bay last Friday.

The aircraft, the source added, merely made an emergency landing due to strong winds and left after 15 minutes.