This archive report was first published on 27 November 2019.
On November 27, 2019, a tragic incident occurred in Mali when two French military helicopters collided during an operation against jihadists in the Liptako region.
The crash, which happened late on Monday, resulted in the loss of 13 soldiers, marking the heaviest single loss for the French military in nearly four decades.
According to Colonel Frederic Barbry, a French military spokesman, the two black boxes from the helicopters have been recovered and will be handed over to the relevant authorities for analysis.
The incident occurred during an operation where three helicopters and a squadron of Mirage jets were supporting ground troops pursuing Islamist extremists.
As the troops engaged the insurgents, who fled on motorbikes and in a pickup truck, a Tiger attack helicopter collided with a Cougar military transport helicopter, resulting in the tragic loss of life.
Colonel Barbry stated that no theory as to the cause of the crash is being ruled out, and it will be up to the investigation team to determine why the collision occurred.
The conditions for flying at the time of the crash were extremely difficult due to the dark night with no moonlight, and the pilots relied on night vision binoculars to intensify the residual light.
The soldiers' bodies will be repatriated to the French mainland, and the incident has brought the total number of French troops killed in the Sahel region to 41 since Paris intervened against Al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadists in Mali in 2013.
