Utahn killed in helicopter crash

A Utah man was among five U.S. soldiers killed in Afghanistan on Wednesday, when an Army CH 47-Chinook helicopter crashed, KUTV reported today.

The station reported that according to a source Sgt. Jesse Blamires, 25, South Jordan, was killed after the chopper was apparently shot down by Taliban militants.

The crash also claimed a Canadian and Briton.

Blamires, an active duty member of the Army's 82nd Airborne Bravo unit, was married and had two young children, ages 5 and nine-months, KUTV reported.

"I was honored to have him serve. He served with honor, distinction," his father, Craig Blamires told the station.

According to KUTV, Blamires signed up for military service three years ago. His family says he was particularly interested in helicopters and worked his way up from a mechanic, to a gunner and finally to the position of crew chief.

Maj. John Thomas, a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force, said there would be a full investigation into Wednesday's crash. "We will try to determine everything that happened and to fully investigate the site," he said.

A U.S. military official, who insisted on speaking anonymously because the crash was still under investigation, said initial reports suggested the helicopter was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade.

A purported Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, claimed in a phone call to The Associated Press that militants shot the helicopter down in the province, the world's largest opium poppy-growing region where combat has been heavy in recent months.

Ahmadi did not offer any proof for his claim, but he specified the helicopter crashed in the Kajaki district hours before NATO reported that information.

Kajaki is the site of a large U.S.-funded hydroelectric dam now being repaired so it can provide electricity to the southern city of Kandahar. British troops, who make up the bulk of the forces in Helmand province, have been engaged in fierce fighting around the dam protecting it.

The Chinook, a heavy transport helicopter with two rotors, can carry about 40 soldiers plus a small crew. The fact it was flying at night suggested the aircraft might have been carrying troops on a nighttime air assault.

The Canadian soldier killed in the crash was Master Cpl. Darrell Jason Priede, a combat cameraman from Gagetown, New Brunswick, said Lt. Col Desmond James, The Canadian Press reported.