8 U.S. troops killed, another 14 injured in helicopter crash in Afghanistan

SHAHJOI, Afghanistan – A U.S. helicopter suffered a “sudden, unexplained loss of power” and crashed Sunday in southeastern Afghanistan, killing eight American troops, the military said. Fourteen people on board survived.\nA NATO spokesman denied the helicopter had been shot down, saying the pilot had radioed ahead to report engine problems. It was the deadliest U.S. crash in Afghanistan since last May.\nThe CH-47 Chinook helicopter was carrying 22 U.S. service members under overcast skies when there was a “sudden, unexplained loss of power and control and crashed,” U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. David Accetta said. The 14 survivors suffered injuries.\nThe helicopter crashed in the Shahjoi district of Zabul province, about 50 yards from the main highway between Kabul and Kandahar, and appeared to be destroyed and scattered in several pieces.\n“It was not enemy fire related,” Col. Tom Collins, spokesman for NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, said earlier. “The pilot was able to radio in that he was having engine problems. We’re confident it was not due to enemy action.”\nZabul provincial governor Dilber Jan Arman said it was possible that the “helicopter crash was due to bad weather.” There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the crash.\nU.S. and Afghan military blocked reporters from entering the crash site.\nIn July, an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter plunged to the ground shortly after taking off from Kandahar Air Field while responding to a reported rocket attack against the air base. One crew member was killed.\nIn May 2006, a CH-47 Chinook helicopter went down while attempting a nighttime landing on a small mountaintop in eastern Kunar province, killing 10 U.S. soldiers. In 2005, a U.S. helicopter crashed in Kunar after apparently being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, killing 16 American troops.