A military helicopter crashed Monday in South Darfur state due to bad weather, killing all 19 on board, the army said.

The MI-17 helicopter had made three attempted landings before crashing, according to a statement issued by the army spokesman.

The statement said the aircraft was on an "administrative" mission in West Kordufan state but was unable to land there because of "bad weather." It went north to attempt a landing at Al Fasher, capital of North Darfur, but couldn't land again and continued to Nyala. The helicopter crashed just outside Nyala, in Domaya.

"Due to bad weather, the helicopter crashed in the area of Domaya, leading to the martyrdom of its crew of three officers and one technicians, as well as the rest of the passengers who were all military, including two officers and thirteen other various ranks," said the statement, carried by the official news agency.

(Chinadaily.com.cn via agencies July 26, 2005)