U.N. Helicopter Crashes; 7 Are Feared Dead

A U.N. helicopter with seven people on board crashed into the sea off Sierra Leone’s coast, a U.N. spokesman said. Three bodies were recovered, and there were no immediate reports of survivors.

The helicopter crashed Wednesday night near the U.N. headquarters in the capital, Freetown, where a United Nations force is disarming rebel groups, spokesman Farhan Haq said in New York.

A witness heard a loud explosion, but there was no immediate report of any attack on the helicopter, Haq said.

The helicopter was headed north from U.N. headquarters to an airport across the bay at Lungi, where the United Nations has a base, U.N. spokeswoman Margaret Novicki said in Freetown. Four crew members, two military observers and one civilian were on board.