A New People's Army (NPA) rebel was killed while five soldiers assigned to the 8th Infantry Division were wounded during an encounter in Barangay L. Empon, Las Navas town,
And later in the day, a UH-IH "Huey" helicopter
with tail number 494, attempting to evacuate the wounded troopers, was forced
to land, damaging its skids in the process, after suffering a still unknown
"discrepancy" at 5 p.m.
Capt. Andrew Linao, 8th Infantry Division deputy public
affairs office chief, said the encounter between their 20th Infantry Battalion
and the rebel band took place at 6 a.m.
He added that the troopers were conducting
"Bayanihan" activities in Barangay L. Empon in an attempt to bridge
the development gap when concerned residents reported the presence of
heavily-armed NPA rebels nearby.
At this point, government soldiers went to engage the
rebels, killing one.
In the same encounter that lasted for 25 minutes, five
troopers were wounded by NPA fire.
Linao said that the rebels then retreated while 20th
Infantry Battalion troopers recovered the body of the slain NPA and turned it
over to barangay officials for identification and proper disposition.
Meanwhile, the escorting UH-IH, immediately landed and
rescued the crew members of the stricken "Huey".
It also conducted the evacuation for the troopers wounded in
the earlier firefight with the rebels.
Major Glen Mark Cabalquinto, 2nd Air Division public affairs
office chief, said that an investigation team is now checking the down UH-IH
helicopter to determine the exact cause of the mishap.
Army troops are providing security to the crashed helicopter
while the investigation is ongoing.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=773035
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