Tashkent, Uzbekistan, July 16
By Demir Azizov - Trend:
The emergency landing of a German armed forces military helicopter near the Uzbek city of Termez (on the Uzbek-Afghan border) could have caused a fire in the grain field, Uzbek online media reported on July 16.
"One of the German combat helicopters made an emergency landing after formation of smoke, while prior to this the field caught fire from the sparks coming out of the engine. This angered the local population," according to the report.
There are no other details or any official comments on the incident.
Luftwaffe (German air force) has been using a civilian airport near the city of Termez since late 2001. The base of the Bundeswehr (Federal Defence Forces of Germany) is used to transfer humanitarian aid and to provide logistic support to the German military contingent's activities in Afghanistan.
About 300 Bundeswehr soldiers are stationed in the Termez base.
Germany also invested 12 million euros in upgrading the airport, especially to upgrade the airport's runways in southern Uzbekistan.
The U.S. representatives were also authorized to use the airport in 2008.
Edited by S.I.