The details and numbers of troops involved in the Chinook crash in Afghanistan are beginning to emerge. The US said on the 30th of June that 13 bodies had been found and that 7 soldiers were unaccounted for. The Army Times however reported on the 1st of July, that only 4 troops were missing and that 16 on board the MH-47 Chinook were killed.
Included amongst the dead are; Sgt Michael L. Russell, Stafford County; Steve Reich, Connecticut; Marcus Luttrell, Navy SEAL, Willis, Texas; Shane Patton, Navy SEAL, Boulder City, nr. Las Vegas; Michael McGreevey, Navy SEAL, New York and Jeff Lucas, Navy SEAL, Portland. In all, 8 Navy SEALs where killed when the Chinook, one of 4 travelling in formation, went down after what a military source described as a "smoke trail from an insurgent position" headed toward the helicopter.
Maj. Paul Swiergosz, a Defense Department spokesman, confirmed Thursday afternoon that all 16 of the U.S. military service members on the MH-47 Chinook helicopter died in the crash. The military had initially reported that 17 people were on the flight, but one passenger apparently missed the flight. The missing men are part of a small reconnaissance team.
[23:10 GMT 01/07/2005]
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