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Viewing cable 09LIBREVILLE27, GABON: EIGHT FRENCH SOLDIERS DIE IN HELICOPTER

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09LIBREVILLE27 2009-01-20 12:53 2011-08-24 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Libreville
VZCZCXRO1155
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHLC #0027 0201253
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 201253Z JAN 09 ZDK CORRECTING HANDLING CAPTION "SENSTIVE" ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY LIBREVILLE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0859
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
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 
 
------- 
Summary 
------- 
 
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. 
 
--------------- 
Nighttime Crash 
--------------- 
 
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. 
 
---------------------------- 
French and Gabonese Response 
---------------------------- 
 
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