BANGKOK, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- All army helicopters currently deployed in northern Thailand were on Tuesday ordered grounded following Monday's incident in which a Bell-212 helicopter exploded and crashlanded, killing all the nine soldiers aboard.
All the army helicopters for use by the northern-based Third Army Region, including the Bell-212 Twin Huey helicopters, have been grounded on a temporary basis, pending major check-ups, confirmed Fourth Infantry Division commander Maj Gen Nopporn Ruenchand.
He said those helicopters which have been used by the Third Army Region, based in the northern province of Pitsanulok, and provided by the Army Aviation Center are yet to be thoroughly checked up to assure maximum safety measures in the wake of the latest mishap.
The Bell-212 helicopter, carrying five army officers on a logistical mission and four crewmembers, was said to have exploded mid-air after it had taken off for about 10 minutes and crashlanded on a rice field in the northern province of Payao.
All the nine soldiers on board the aircraft were immediately killed, including deputy Third Army Region commander Maj Gen Songpol Thongjeen.
Their bodies were charred in a blaze while the head of one of the fallen soldiers was reportedly missing.
The Army Aviation Center, based in the central province of Lopburi, is yet to look into the cause of the incident which has remained a mystery, said the major general.
The Army Aviation Center is primarily responsible for the repair and maintenance of all army helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft for use by the Third Army Region and other army units throughout the country.
Meanwhile, the Thai army will by no means decommission its Bell- 212 two-engine, utility helicopters currently deployed anywhere no matter what might possibly have happened to the ill-fated one on Monday, said deputy army spokeswoman Col Sirichand Ngarthong.
Also known as Twin Two Twelve, the Twin Huey helicopter is the army utility aircraft developed from a Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter, unofficially named Huey, which was widely used by the United States army in the Vietnam War.
One last Bell-212 helicopter which crashlanded, immediately killing all crew members and passengers aboard, occurred in 2011 in the Kaeng Krachan rainforest area of Petchburi province close to Myanmar's border.
It was one of the three army helicopters which reportedly exploded and crashlanded in a matter of nine days in that area, killing 17 army officers, including a Ninth Infantry Division commander and a TV cameraman, and seriously injuring one soldier.
The two others included a UH-1 Huey and a UH-60 Black Hawk, flown by the division commander.
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