GABON: EIGHT FRENCH SOLDIERS DIE IN HELICOPTER

UNCLAS LIBREVILLE 000027

C O R R E C T E D COPY - ADDING "SENSITIVE" HANDLING CAPTION

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAIR PREL MASS CASC GB FR
SUBJECT: GABON: EIGHT FRENCH SOLDIERS DIE IN HELICOPTER
CRASH

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Summary
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1. (U) A French military helicopter crashed off the Gabonese
coast January 17, killing eight of ten French military
personnel aboard. The Couger helicopter had just lifted off
from the French amphibious assault ship La Foudre, in Gabon
for a bilateral training exercise. French President Nicolas
Sarkozy dispatched Defense Minister Herve Morin to Libreville
in response to the crash. Morin told the press the causes of
the crash were not yet known. The Ambassador and the Defense
Attache will attend memorial services for the victims January
20 and 21. End Summary.

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Nighttime Crash
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2. (U) As widely reported in the international press, a
Eurocopter AS 532 Cougar crashed off the coast of Gabon late
in the evening on January 17, soon after lifting off from the
French amphibious assault ship La Foudre. A total of eight
soldiers are confirmed dead and two are confirmed survived.
Both survivors are in local hospitals.


3. (U) The helicopter crashed into Atlantic waters 50
kilometers off the small town of Nyonie, between Libreville
and Port Gentil. The La Foudre was the first on the scene,
arriving 30 minutes after the crash, and rescued three
survivors, one of whom later died of his injuries at the
hospital. The La Foudre, two helicopters, three ships and an
underwater robot contributed By French oil company Total
participated in the search effort.


4. (U) The helicopter was discovered in water 35 meters deep,
and five bodies were discovered in it. Two bodies were later
discovered nearby, and the final eighth body was discovered
on January 19.


5. (U) Four French soldiers on the helicopter crew were
assigned to French Forces in Gabon (FFG) located at Camp De
Gaulle in Libreville. The six others were commandos
assigned to the 13th Regiment of Dragon Paratroopers. The
helicopter was participating in a French-Gabonese bilateral
training exercise, Operation Ngari. The exercise was
scheduled for January 17-21, and involved 600 French soldiers
and 120 Gabonese troops.

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French and Gabonese Response
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7. (U) News of the crash was first released by the office of
French president Sarkozy. In response to the crash, Sarkozy
sent Defense Minister Herve Morin to Libreville January 18.
Morin overflew the crash site, met Gabonese President El
Hadjj Omar Bongo Ondimba, and consulted with Gabon-based
French military officials. Following his meeting with Bongo,
Morin told the press that the cause of the crash has not yet
been established.


8. (U) Morin also announced that there would be a French
judicial inquest and a separate investigation by the French
Defense Ministry. French gendarmes and a French air accident
expert would participate in the probes, Morin said. The
French military also reportedly grounded all 17 Cougar
transport helicopters as a precautionary measure. The
Cougars have been in service an average of 16 years each.


9. (SBU) Gabonese Defense Minister Ali Bongo told the press
that Gabon had provided logistical and medical assistance to
the search and rescue operation. We have not yet determined
whether Gabonese maritime or air assets were deployed in
response to the crash, but no such assistance has been
mentioned in local or international press reports.


10. (U) The Ambassador and the Defense Attache will attend
memorial services for the victims of the crash on January 20
and 21. As best we can determine so far, no Gabonese
maritime or air assets were deployed in response to the
crash. Libreville-based French military forces helped
evacuate American citizens and others from Chad in February

2007. The loss of these troops is keenly felt within the
tight knit French military community here.
REDDICK