This has me very nervous. Choppers, 101st Airborne (Paul's division), Mosul (where Paul is)...
[ November 15, 2003, 04:15 PM: Message edited by: Pixie ]
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
Takes you to aol login....
Posted by Frisco (Member # 3765) on :
AOL makes me nervous, too.
Posted by Pixie (Member # 4043) on :
quote: 12 Soldiers Killed as Two U.S. Helicopters Crash in Iraq Witnesses Say the Two Aircraft Collided in Mid-Air By MARYAM FAM, AP
MOSUL, Iraq (Nov. 15) - Two U.S. Black Hawks crashed Saturday evening in this northern Iraqi city, killing 12 coalition soldiers and injuring at least nine, the military said. Witnesses said the two aircraft collided in midair.
A U.S. soldier at the scene said he heard one of the helicopters was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade before it crashed. But a military spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity, said such reports were "at best speculative" and added that coalition forces had no reports that a helicopter was shot down.
Witnesses said the helicopters crashed about 6:30 p.m. in Borsa, a residential neighborhood in Mosul, Iraq's third-largest city.
Nafe Younis said he was sitting on the roof of his house when he saw the rotor blades of the two helicopters hit each other.
One of the helicopters then "hit into the house and a few minutes later it went ablaze," said Younis, who lives across the street from where one of the helicopters crashed.
The U.S. military said it had no reports that a helicopter was shot down and did not give a cause for the crash, which occurred about 6:30 p.m., about an hour after sundown.
The Black Hawk can have a crew of four and carry about a dozen passengers. The two that crashed Saturday belonged to the 101st Airborne Division, which controls northern Iraq.
The scene of the crash was cordoned off and reporters were not allowed close to the site.
In the darkness, the silhouette of one helicopter was visible, perched on top of a two-story building.
Mahsen Ali, who lives in that building, said she heard two explosions as the building was rocked.
"We were sitting and suddenly we heard a boom," she said. "The neighbors were yelling, 'Get out, get out."'
Ali, a young mother, left the building without even waiting to put on her shoes and sought safety in a neighbor's house. From there she saw smoke rising from the helicopter and one soldier pulling another away from the wreckage.
The crashes raise to four the number of helicopters that have gone down this month.
Sixteen U.S. service members were killed on Nov. 2 when a Chinook helicopter carrying dozens of soldiers on leave was apparently downed by insurgents near the city of Fallujah west of Baghdad.
A Black Hawk helicopter was shot down on Nov. 7 near the central town of Tikrit, killing all six soldiers aboard.
Is that better?
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
Yeah. I hope BF is o.k.. Please let us know if you hear anything.
Posted by Jaiden (Member # 2099) on :
I can't even remember what the last thing I said to him was. (Yes, I'm probably worried over nothing but it's terrifying nonetheless.)
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
I wouldn't say worried over nothing. I hope you hear from him soon. I assume there's not email or something? (((Pixie)))
Posted by Dragon (Member # 3670) on :
((((Pixie)))) ((((soldiers' families))))
I hope Paul's okay!
[ November 15, 2003, 08:03 PM: Message edited by: Dragon ]
Posted by ana kata (Member # 5666) on :
6:30 p.m
I have a message from Paul from this morning that he left while I was away from my computer.
drthFox signed off at 9:15:30 AM.
That would be 6:15pm his time. He's still 9 hours ahead of me. So not quite late enough to cover the time frame, but fairly close. I just feel sure he must be okay.
Posted by ana kata (Member # 5666) on :
Anyone talked to him yet since then? I haven't.
Posted by Vána (Member # 3262) on :
Oh, I hope he's alright! *frets* Please let us know as soon as you know!
I hate news like this - it's even worse when it might involve someone you actually know. Posted by ana kata (Member # 5666) on :
Here is a follow up story. Not much more information.
Another story about hostility to the U.S. troops in Mosul.
A story about anxious people waiting for word at home.
[ November 17, 2003, 12:49 AM: Message edited by: ana kata ]
Posted by ana kata (Member # 5666) on :
Talked to Paul this morning! Yay! He's okay! Posted by Dragon (Member # 3670) on :
*resumes breathing*
I'm so glad!
Posted by amira tharani (Member # 182) on :
*is relieved*
Posted by Pixie (Member # 4043) on :
I snuck online to check my e-mail account during lunch at school today and just about squeeked I was so happy.
And... He said he'll be home in the first week of January!!!!! ::jumps around in place, grinning happilly::
Also... Thanks for being so great and bearing with me you guys. You've all been so good to me. ::runs around hugging people randomly with a smile on her face::
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
I snuck online to check my e-mail account during lunch at school today and just about squeeked I was so happy. ![[Group Hug]](graemlins/grouphug.gif)