A Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) training mission went terribly wrong yesterday resulting in three soldiers being seriously injured after a military helicopter crashed at Up Park Camp.

Up to late yesterday evening the soldiers were still being treated at the University Hospital of the West Indies. A technical team from the aircraft's manufacturers, Bell Helicopter, based in Texas, United States, is expected in the island tomorrow to assist with the investigation.

"We cannot say what really happened or the nature of the injuries. However, the last communication was that they were in stable condition,'' remarked Major Ricardo Blackwood of the JDF's civil/military cooperation branch

narrowly made it

A JDF news release said that the incident occurred about 12:30 p.m. yesterday. It seems the aircraft narrowly made it to the military base, as shortly after midday, a STAR news team heading into Kingston via the Portmore leg of Highway 2000 spotted a green helicopter, the same colour of the aircraft that crashed, involved in what appeared to be an erratic flight pattern.

As the news team approached Marcus Garvey Drive, the helicopter dipped to the left and went out of the news team's line of sight. Moments later, the aircraft was seen flying over Tinson Pen. It appeared the aircraft was about to land. But, it never did.

About 30 minutes later, news of the crash started to circulate. When quizzed about the events leading up to the crash, Blackwood said he could not comment on the route the aircraft took before crashing at the military base.