IN THE most devastating accident in Israeli air force history, some 70 soldiers died last night after two military helicopters collided in mid-air over northern Israel.
The two transport helicopters were ferrying troops to the Israeli held "security zone" in south Lebanon. They collided at about 7 p.m. local time directly above the village of Sha'ar Yeshuv, in the Upper Galilee and a short distance south of the Lebanon border. The bang was heard dozens of miles away.
The army chief-of-staff, Gen Amnon Shahak, announced early today that 73 soldiers had lost their lives.
The US-made Sikorsky helicopters are each designed to carry 37 crew members and troops. There were no survivors.
The painful process of identify the bodies was under way late last night, and condolence messages were being sent out to the newly-bereaved families.
An investigation was launched into the precise cause of the collision. Initial speculation was that pilot error in the heavy fog and rain may have been responsible, or that the standard practice of the helicopters switching off their lights as they crossed the border into Lebanon may have been contributory. But military officials cautioned against jumping to conclusions.
The Israeli Prime Minister Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, who was to have visited Jordan today for talks on economic co-operation and other aspects of the peace process, telephoned King Hussein to cancel the trip.
The King expressed his condolences, as did the Palestinian leader, Mr Yasser Arafat. Mr Netanyahu said that "the whole country is united" in grief over the loss of life.
While there had been speculation in recent days that Israel might launch retaliatory action for a series of recent attacks by pro-Iranian Hizbullah gunmen in southern Lebanon, army spokesmen said only that the helicopters were carrying troops to Israeli positions in the security zone when the collision occurred.
One of the helicopters plummeted to earth in a kibbutz cemetery; the other landed on an empty house at Sha'ar Yeshuv. There were no casualties on the ground. Ms Silvia Cohen, whose own home is only yards away, said she heard "a loud bang" and went outside in time to see the helicopter crash onto the building. "Everything exploded," she said. "I grabbed hold of the children. It was indescribable."
Because both helicopters were carrying large quantities of ammunition, rescue crews were initially unable to approach the burning wreckage. Indeed, the explosives on board continued to detonate for some time after the crash. _
Israel maintains a permanent troop presence in southern Lebanon, alongside soldiers from the South Lebanon Army militia, to counter Hizbullah. Last Thursday, three Israeli soldiers were killed in a Hizbullah bombing in the "security zone," prompting Israeli demands that Syria which maintains some 35,000 troops in Lebanon, and which Israel charges with tacitly encouraging the Hizbullah activity - rein in the gunmen if it truly sought peace. At the same time, the high number of Israeli losses in Lebanon (some 30 soldiers have died there in the past year) has prompted debate in Israel over whether Israel should unilaterally withdraw to the international border.
That suggestion has been firmly rejected by the Israeli government, a.mid fears that Hizbullah and rejectionist Palestinian gunmen would then try to infiltrate into sovereign Israel. But in the wake of last night's clash, the subject is bound to be examined again.