Army chopper crashes, 6 hurt

ZAMBOANGA CITY (AFP) -- A military helicopter ferrying Army doctors to the scene of a deadly ferry bombing in the southern Philippines crashed yesterday, injuring all those on board, officials said.

The UH-1H aircraft pitched into a wooded area near the town of Pulacan in Zamboanga del Sur, about 50 kilometers southwest of the port city of Ozamiz, Brig. Gen. Narciso Abaya, Army First Division commander, said.

He identified the pilots as a Captain Forunda and a Lieutenant Imperial. The others injured were helicopter crewman Lieutenant Macalintal and passengers Captain Villegas, Lieutenant Foronda and Sergeant Camilon, all members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Medical Corps.

The helicopter was one of two sent by the military from an air base here to evacuate some of the 35 people injured during the bombing of a ferry on Panguil Bay off Ozamiz on Friday, Abaya said.

Those injured in the bombing sustained serious burn or shrapnel wounds and needed to be evacuated to specialist hospitals in Cagayan de Oro City, Abaya said. None of the injuries of the six people on board were life-threatening, he added.

Authorities said it was too early to say why the old Huey helicopter crashed. Abaya said the chopper was totally wrecked. --With Roel Pareño