US soldiers die in Kuwait crash

US soldiers die in Kuwait crash

Black Hawks are the US Army's most important combat helicopter

A US Army Black Hawk helicopter has crashed in Kuwait during a night training mission, killing all four crew members.

The crash happened near one of the camps in northern Kuwait where tens of thousands of US troops are preparing for the possibility of an attack against Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

The US Army said the cause of the crash was being investigated.

Identification of the crew members - the only personnel on board - has been withheld pending notification of next of kin, the army said.

The crash occurred about 0100 local time (2200 GMT on Monday) near the military's Camp New Jersey about 50 kilometres (30 miles) northwest of Kuwait City.

BLACK HAWK

Multi-purpose combat helicopter

Capable of carrying 9,000lbs of external equipment

Crew of four, plus 12 passengers

Black Hawk helicopter

The Black Hawk is the US Army's most important combat helicopter, designed to move quickly into hostile environments and deliver or collect troops and armaments.

Earlier this year four members of an elite airborne regiment died when an adapted version of the aircraft crashed near Bagram air base in Afghanistan.