UN Secretary-General Comments Downing of Helicopter in Abkhazia

The Secretary-General Kofi A. Annan  was shocked to learn that a United Nations helicopter carrying nine passengers and crew was reportedly shot down in the western part of the Kodori gorge in Georgia, Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General reports.

According to the UN  Secretary-General’s Spokesman Four military observers, two local staff and three Ukrainian flight crew of the UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) were on board the helicopter. A UN search and rescue team was dispatched to the site. It later reported that the team had arrived at the crash site, and confirmed that there were no survivors.

Other sources say that five UN mission observers died, Chief of Staff of the UN military observer mission Laslo Torok was among them. The confirmed information about the incident and casualties will be know late today. UNOMIG resident representative in Georgia Mr. Dieter Boden plans to hold a special press-conference today.