A Sri Lankan Army helicopter crashed on Friday during a demonstration flight, plunging into Lake Maduru Oya, about 300 kilometers east of Colombo. According to military sources, the crash left six soldiers dead and six others lightly injured.
The cause of the accident remains unknown. “An investigation has been launched to determine the circumstances of the incident,” a military officer stated.
This is one of the deadliest crashes involving Sri Lanka’s military aviation in recent years. The last comparable tragedy occurred in September 2000, when a MI-17 transport helicopter crashed in the central part of the country, killing 15 people.