Two killed in Haiti-Dominican chopper crash

Two men killed in a helicopter crash in the Dominican Republic were US citizens supporting relief operations in quake-devastated Haiti, a US official said Friday.

Dominican authorities said late Thursday that the bodies of the pilot and co-pilot were recovered from the wreckage of a helicopter which crashed in mountainous jungle around 7:00 pm (2300 GMT) in the province of Dajabon, 305 kilometers (190 miles) northwest of the capital Santo Domingo.

"The helicopter owner and the helicopter pilot, both US citizens, are presumed to have perished in the crash," press officer David Searby of the US Embassy in Santo Domingo told AFP.The aircraft, identified by Dominican authorities as an R44 civil four-seater produced by US-based Robinson Helicopter Company, "was ferrying relief supplies and doctors for the victims of the Haiti earthquake back and forth between Santiago (in northern Dominican Republic) and various places along the Haiti-DR border and in Haiti," Searby said in an email.

"Both men were working independently supporting the relief work for the victims of the Haiti earthquake in conjunction with ongoing private relief efforts for earthquake victims." -AFP