Eight peacekeepers killed in helicopter crash in Sinai

Eight peacekeepers were killed on Thursday after their helicopter crashed in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, the multinational force said.

The dead were six U.S. citizens, one French, and one Czech, the troops officially known as the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) added in a statement.

One U.S. MFO member survived the crash and was medically evacuated, it said.

The crash took place during a “routine mission” in the vicinity of Sharm el-Sheikh in the southern part of the largely desert peninsula.

The MFO said it would conduct an investigation to determine the cause of the accident.

“At this point, there is no information to indicate the crash was anything except an accident,” it said.

Initially, local witnesses said seven had been killed in the crash.

An Egyptian security official said  that the crash was due to a technical problem that affected the engine.

Egyptian security forces and the MFO chief in Sinai went to the crash site that was sealed off, the official added on condition of anonymity.

The MFO force is tasked with monitoring the Egyptian-Israeli border under a peace treaty between the two countries.