RAF launches rescue after 12 injured in military helicopter crash

LONDON  (AFP) - Britain's defence ministry launched a rescue operation Wednesday evening after a Royal Air Force (RAF) helicopter crashed in northern England, injuring all 12 people on board.

A spokeswoman for the defence ministry, speaking on customary condition of anonymity, could not provide details on the people who were injured, but said that they suffered from "a range of injuries, from very serious to walking wounded."

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said that rescue crews were at the scene, while aircraft from nearby Royal Air Force bases were also dispatched. Local police said that the crash site had been cordoned off.

Michael Mulford, a defence ministry spokesman, earlier told the BBC that the ministry will launch a Board of Inquiry into why the helicopter crashed, and added that he could not provide details on the type of helicopter, or on whether a distress call had been sent out.