No injuries in Tanzanian military AB 412 crash

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Tanzanian Vice President Dr Mohammed Gharib Bilal was one of eleven people on board an Agusta-Bell 412 helicopter who escaped injury after it crashed on takeoff earlier this week.

The aircraft, operated by the Tanzanian People’s Defence Force Air Wing, was taking off from Dar es Salaam-Julius Nyerere International Airport on the morning of April 13 when it apparently suffered technical problems and crashed, according to Airport Police Commandant Commissioner Khamis Selemani.

The helicopter’s rotor blades hit an adjacent hanger and the aircraft turned over onto its side next to the hangar.

The helicopter was due to view flooding in the area and in addition to the Vice President was carrying Works Minister Dr John Magufuli, Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner Said Meck Sadiki and Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police Commander Suleiman Kova, plus several journalists and the pilot, according to Air Forces Daily.

An investigation into the incident has been launched.

Over a dozen people died in flooding in Tanzania last month. Julius Nyerere International Airport was also affected by floodwaters.