UN chopper crashes in eastern Congo, 8 peacekeepers killed, army blames rebels

Eight peacekeepers were killed when a UN helicopter crashed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday amid rebel fighting, the United Nations said.

The bodies of the peacekeepers have been taken to Goma and an investigation was underway into the circumstances of the crash, the United Nations said in a statement.

They included six crew members from the Pakistani military and two military personnel – one from Russia and one from Serbia, the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, known as MONUSCO, said in a statement.

Pakistan’s army said that all eight people had died, and gave the names of the pilot and crew. Pakistan has deployed an aviation unit to the UN mission in Congo since 2011, it said.