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2:22
Two strange Romanian plane crashes near the Ukrainian border
One fighter plane disappeared and the other rescue aircraft crashed.
Romanian authorities reported Thursday morning of a strange accident involving two military planes that left eight dead.
A Romanian air force helicopter crashed on Wednesday night in the southeast of the country, killing all seven crew members, according to data from the Romanian Defense Ministry.
The helicopter's mission was to search and rescue the MiG-21 Lancer fighter plane after it disappeared.
Hours later, the Romanian Ministry of Defense reported that the lost combat aircraft also suffered an accident for reasons that have not yet been determined. The 31-year-old pilot of the plane died in the accident.
Both incidents took place 100 kilometers straight from the Ukrainian border on the Black Sea.
The IAR-330 Puma helicopter lost communication with the control tower while searching for the fighter plane and later crashed near the town of Cogealac.
The MiG fighter aircraft took off at 18:00 (local time), to carry out a routine patrol of the Mihaul Kigalniceanu air force detachment, near the port city of Constanta, where NATO has deployed thousands of military personnel since The month of february.
Bad weather does not seem to be the cause of accidents
The authorities have indicated that it simply disappeared from radar while flying over the Dobrogea area, near the Black Sea, for that reason the seven crew members of the helicopter were considered dead.
Likewise, they assure that they had issued a bad weather warning, but the meteorological authorities assure that this does not justify the disappearance without prior communication.
The two aircraft went down just a few minutes apart about seven miles away from the airbase.
US forces have been stationed at the Mihail Kogalniceany base for a number of years.
Since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine escalated, the strength and the entire military deployment of NATO has been increased.
This military base serves as an outpost in the eastern region of the Alliance.
Romania shares a 650 kilometer long border with Ukraine, however, this country is preserved by being a member of the European Union and NATO.
In January, the United States sent a convoy of Stryker armored vehicles and 1,000 soldiers, adding to the 900 that had been deployed in the territory before.
For its part, the German air force sent six Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, joining the four that Italy sent in February.
Belgium and France have sent almost 1,000 soldiers and anti-tank armor.
