Elite rescue unit to recover bodies from chopper crash

Teams of Unit 669 soldiers take off in helicopters towards crash site to recover bodies of six Israeli Air Force soldiers and Romanian military officer. They will land few kilometers from site and continue by foot

Hanan Greenberg|Published: 07.28.10 , 09:03

ROMANIA – An IDF mission to Romania departed Wednesday morning from a Romanian air force base to the site of the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of six Israel Air Force soldiers and a Romanian military officer.

The mission left in IAF Yasur helicopters. The slight improvement in weather conditions should make it easier for them to reach the site and recover the bodies.

The choppers are slated to land close to the crash location, and members of the Unit 669 rescue team will continue by foot a few kilometers to the actual site. Military officials emphasized that the mountainous terrain is making movement difficult, and it may take a few hours before the group reaches the area where the bodies are located.

Searches near the crash site

The IDF announced Tuesday that search teams located the helicopter's black box, which will make it easier to decode what caused the fatal accident. The box was found by a Romanian search team, which then sent a photo of the box to the IDF for identification.

Members of the elite Israeli search team arrived already on Tuesday at the Romanian base, some 250 km (about 155 miles) from the scene of the accident. Since then, the Unit 669 team and the Military Rabbinate have been busy preparing equipment before taking to the mountains.

The search team is made up of some 30 commanders and soldiers from Unit 669, under the command of Lt. Col. A. They will aid the sensitive operation, and, if needed, will be lowered by ropes into less accessible areas.

The IDF estimates that recovery of the bodies may take hours, especially in light of the fact that initial identification of the corpses will take place in Romania. The bodies are expected to arrive in Israel on Thursday.

The IDF continues to collect initial findings into the circumstances surrounding the accident. Military officials noted that the guiding assumption at this point is that it was caused by human error under difficult flight conditions, but said it is as of yet too early to make any conclusions.