Relief helicopter crashes, 10 survive

By Rafael D. Frankel, Tribune foreign correspondent Hugh Dellios and Tribune news services contributed to this report

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia -- A U.S. Navy Seahawk SH-60 helicopter crashed Monday morning in a rice paddy as it approached Banda Aceh airport during tsunami relief operations in Sumatra.

All 10 people aboard survived, and all of them suffered injuries. At least five had broken bones, said Capt. Jeremy Boyd, a pilot with the U.S. Air Force, who was at the scene.

The helicopter, one of 17 from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln participating in relief efforts, was arriving for its first mission of the day. There was no fire or explosion, and the cause of the crash was unclear.

Lt. Cmdr. John Bernard, a Navy spokesman, said the crash appeared to be an accident.

"There was no indication of hostile action taken toward the aircraft," Bernard said.

On Monday, the U.S. military suspended helicopter flights for about two hours after the crash.

The injured were flown out by medevac chopper and taken to the aircraft carrier.

Also in Banda Aceh, a 6.2-magnitude earthquake shook buildings and sent people scrambling from their homes early Monday, but no injuries or damage were reported.

The temblor struck at 5:13 a.m. off the northern coast of Sumatra, according to the U.S. Geological Survey's Web site.

The quake was centered about 9 miles under the seabed in the Indian Ocean, about 40 miles southwest of Banda Aceh.

Sumatra, which was closest to the epicenter of the Dec. 26 9.0-magnitude earthquake that triggered the tsunami, has accounted for about two-thirds of the 150,000 people known to have died in the disaster.

Strong aftershocks and security concerns have provided more challenges for aid workers two weeks after the tsunami.

And in a part of eastern Sri Lanka where international aid workers are helping tsunami victims, two hand grenades hurled in a clash between Christians and Hindus killed at least three people and wounded 37.

No aid workers were near the explosions, officials said.

Two suspected assailants were arrested soon after the attack in a Tamil rebel-controlled area late Saturday, said V.H. Anil, a police officer in the eastern town of Valaichchenai. He said Christians were angry that Hindus demolished a church and may have carried out the attack in retaliation.

© 2005 The Chicago Tribune