HANOI (AFP) - Four people were killed on Wednesday when a Vietnamese military helicopter crashed minutes after it set off from southern Ho Chi Minh City, an army official told AFP.
The UH-1 helicopter - known as a Huey - lost contact just eight minutes after departing from Tan Son Nhat international airport early on Wednesday, army deputy commander Lieutenant-General Vo Van Tuan told AFP.
"All the four crew members onboard were killed. We are checking the reason for the crash," Lt-Gen Tuan said.
An online report by the state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper said the crash happened in Binh Chanh district outside the city formerly known as Saigon.
Vietnam's civilian aviation sector generally has a decent safety record, but there have been a number of incidents in recent years involving military aircraft.
In July last year, 19 people were killed and two others were injured when a Russian-made Mi-171 chopper crashed in the capital Hanoi during a training exercise.
In 2008 five Vietnamese military pilots were killed when their twin-engine light transport aircraft crashed on the outskirts of Hanoi.