Vietnam helicopter crash kills 16

A Vietnamese military helicopter has crashed in the centre of the country, killing all 16 people on board, including two generals.

The Russian-made aircraft went down shortly after take-off from Me island, officials said.

An inquiry has been launched into the cause of the crash - 300km (180 miles) south of the capital, Hanoi.

The bodies of 13 officers and three crew members have been recovered, the military said.

"It [helicopter] went down just few minutes after taking off from Me island," an officer was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying.

One of the generals was the commander of Vietnam's Military Zone Four, based in the central province of Nghe An.

A similar type of helicopter crashed in 2001 in the centre of the country, also killing 16 - seven Americans and nine Vietnamese looking for the remains of missing US soldiers from the Vietnam War.