IDF finds bodies of airmen killed in Romania

The IDF spokesman Avi Benayahu has confirmed that the bodies of all six IDF air force personnel killed in last night's helicopter crash in Romania have been found.

The IDF delegation which landed this afternoon in the area of the crash conducted widespread searches despite ongoing stormy weather to locate the missing servicemen and gather evidence about the causes of the crash.

The six missing Israel servicemen were named as: Lt. Col (Res.) Avner Goldman, 48, from Modi'in; Lt. Col. Daniel Shipenbauer, 43,, from Moshav Kidron near Gedera; Maj. Yahel Keshet 33, from Hatzerim in the Negev; Maj. Lior Shai ,28, from Tel-Nof; Lt. Nir Lakrif (25), also from Tel- Nof; and First Sergeant Oren Cohen, 24, from Rehovot. In addition, a Romanian serviceman Stephan Dragna, 31, was also on board.

All IAF training exercises were halted today following the accident and a committee of enquiry was established to investigate the circumstances of the tragedy.

The IDF and Romanian Army were holding a joint exercise called "Blue Sky." The initial assumption is that the accident was caused due to poor visibility rather than a technical fault.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 27, 2010

IDF finds bodies of airmen killed in Romania

The six Israelis and one Romanian air force personnel died when their helicopter crashed in the Carpathian Mountains.