Two die after RAF helicopter crashes in northern England

LONDON (AFP) - Two people died and 10 were injured, some seriously, when a Royal Air Force (RAF) helicopter crashed in northern England, local police said Thursday.

The defence ministry launched a rescue operation late Wednesday after the aircraft crashed at about 9pm (2000 GMT) near the Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire, where it had been to work with the army.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said that two of the people on board had died. He added that of the 12 people on the aircraft, three were RAF crew, and nine army personnel were passengers.

Earlier, a spokeswoman for the defence ministry, speaking on customary condition of anonymity, said she could not provide details on the people who were injured, but noted 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 had also been dispatched.
Local police said that the crash site was cordoned off.

RAF spokesman Michael Mulford 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.

"The board of inquiry will start work ... through the night or certainly today, and they will take as long as it takes to work their way through and determine what happened here," Mulford told the broadcaster.

The Catterick Garrison is Britain's largest army base, with about 7,500 regular soldiers, 1,900 recruits, and 2,000 civilian staff.