Reuters 01/23/03
Original Link: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=N5EKKWXSOZGRKCRBAEOCFFA?
type=topNews&storyID=2096414
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four U.S. Marines died when two helicopters crashed in south Texas while assisting in an anti-narcotics mission, a marine spokesman said on Thursday.
Capt. Joe Koppel told Reuters the AH-1W SuperCobra helicopters from the HMLA-775 squadron based in Camp Pendleton, Calif., crashed near Zapata, Texas, at the border with Mexico, at about 9:27 p.m. central time on Wednesday.
He said the pilot and co-pilot of each aircraft, the only people on board, had not survived.
The cause of the crash was still under investigation, he said, and the names of the four officers were being withheld.