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Day of mourning declared on Friday to remember 15 firefighters killed in copter crash |
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Monday, 25 June 2007 |
Mongolia will observe a national
day of mourning on Friday to remember the 15 firefighters killed in
a June 13 helicopter crash. Friday is the day the 15 firefighters will
be buried.
All sports and entertainment
events will be cancelled on Friday.
The fatalities occurred while
firefighters were riding in a Russian-made Mi-8 helicopter on its way
to a forest fire when the helicopter crashed into the forest. Fourteen
occupants of the helicopter died before being rescued. The 15th
casualty, one of the pilots, died while in a hospital.
An uproar has occurred as details
have been released indicating the firefighters were not rescued for
three days. Opposition lawmakers have called for the resignations of
the minister and officials in charge.
Mongolian President Nambaryn
Enkhbayar has referred to the “irresponsible actions” which caused
the crash, as well as the slow pace of the rescue.
It has been reported that Mongolia
now has no working helicopters. The government previously had two helicopters.
However, one was lost during the crash and the other was damaged while
reportedly being used during a Parliament member’s fox hunt.
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