KHMER REPUBLIC: AFTERMATH OF CRASHED U.S. BOMBER WHICH KILLED AT LEAST 20 NEAR PHNOM PENH.

Record ID: 358439

  • Title: KHMER REPUBLIC: AFTERMATH OF CRASHED U.S. BOMBER WHICH KILLED AT LEAST 20 NEAR PHNOM PENH.
  • Date: 6th May 1973
  • Summary: 1. GV & SVs Crashed bomber & debris (3 shots) 0.24 2. SCU USAF sign on wing of crashed bomber 0.30 3. SV Charred body ZOOM OUT wreckage 0.37 4. SV Troops look through debris 0.42 5. SV Wounded soldier amidst debris 0.50 6. SVs Charred body & soldiers remove debris 1.00 7. LVs APCs past camera down road (2 shots) 1.22 8.
  • Embargoed: 21st May 1973 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: PHNOM PENH, KHMER REPUBLIC
  • Country: Cambodia
  • Reuters ID: LVAWAOVPO44B5SKVRWDZE75KSWM
  • Story Text: At least 20 people were killed and 40 injured when United States Air Force A-7 Corsair jet fighter-bomber crashed into a Khmer Army dispensary at Pochentong airbase near Phnom Penh on Friday (4 May). It was apparently trying to make an emergency landing.

    Khmer military sources claimed the aircraft had been hit by ground fire before crashing, but the American embassy said that the plane was trying to land with mechanical trouble and that an investigation was under way.

    Corsair A-7's are all-weather fighters which normally operate from aircraft-carriers. Eye-witnesses said this type of aircraft had never been seen before at Pochentong airbase.

    Meanwhile, fierce fighting continues near Phnom Penh. Government troops have been supported by air-strikes from Phantom jets about 14 miles south of the capital. Heavy B-52 bombers have also been pounding communist positions.

    The heaviest fighting has been along the banks of the Mekong River, and two battalions of Government troops (around 500 men) have been officially listed as missing after a position 25 miles (40 kilometres) down river had been overrun.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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