By Aimen Amzein.
Benghazi, 22 July 2014:
A bank worker was killed yesterday when the helicopter he was travelling in . . .[restrict]with five others crashed six minutes after take-off from Benina Airbase.
Airforce spokesman at Benina Nasser Al-Hassi told the Libya Herald that the MI8 helicopter was carrying LD 15 million to the Beida branch of the National Commercial Bank (NCB) and was en route to Labraq Airport. He identified the dead NCB employee as Maraja Al-Mirtaja adding that the five others on board – one other bank worker and four crew members – had all miraculously survived. They were unable to save Mirtaja who was badly burnt in the crash.
Hassi said the Airforce began transporting bank money between eastern cities and towns a month ago following a surge of bank robberies and security van heists. He said the crashed helicopter had already delivered money to Zueitina and Brega on the day it crashed.
The spokesman denied that the aircraft had been shot down saying the accident had been due to a technical fault. He said the MI8s used by the airforce were very old but had been kept in service out of necessity.
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