Cambodian military chopper crashes during training, killing 5

A Cambodian military helicopter crashed on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, on Monday morning during a training mission, killing 5 military officers and seriously injuring one, senior officials said.
The accident happened at 9:30 a.m. in Dangkor district on the outskirts of Phnom Penh when a military chopper carrying six military officers crashed into a large pond, said Chuon Narin, deputy police chief of Phnom Penh Municipality.
"Five died and one was seriously injured when the helicopter crashed into the pond and exploded," he told Xinhua after the accident. "All the victims were military personnel who conducted a flying training."
He said he did not know what caused the explosion as an investigation is underway.
According to Chuon Narin, the crashed chopper was a Chinese- made Zhi-9 (Z-9) utility helicopter.
He said there was no damage to any local residents since it fell into the pond.
The crashed site is located about 12 km south of capital Phnom Penh.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Tea Banh said among the dead victims were Major General Uk Ponnaha, commander of military helicopter unit, and Brigadier General Ieng Vanrith, deputy chief of military helicopter technicians team.
"The accident occurred when they were teaching new pilots to fly," he told Xinhua.
"This is a great loss of human resources for our military helicopter unit," he said. "We have never met such a big military helicopter crash in the last decade."
According to Tea Banh, an injured survivor had spilled out of the chopper before it crashed into the pond.
He said rescue teams are searching for the bodies of the five victims and the wreckage of the chopper in the pond, which is about 150 meters in width, 500 meters in length and more than 20 meters in depth.
Tea Banh said it was still unclear what caused the accident as the survived officer was still in serious condition and was admitted to Khmer-Soviet Hospital soon after the crash.
An eyewitness said he saw the chopper's fan hit the bank of the pond and one person jumped out of the helicopter before it fell into the pond.
"It fell into the pond and exploded like a bomb," said Dem Sophanith, 27, whose house is located just about 30 meters from the crashed site.
Another eyewitness gave a similar description for the accident.