German military helicopter crashes, at least one killed

BERLIN - A helicopter of the Bundeswehr, the unified armed forces of Germany, crashed in Lower Saxony, killing at least one person and seriously injuring another, the German armed forces confirmed on Monday.

The accident happened in the Monday afternoon in the district of Aerzen, according to local German police.

The crash site was close to a forest area, said a spokesperson from Aerzen. Fires had broken out around the crash site and the fire brigade was on duty.

The helicopter was part of the Buekeburg military aviation school, a spokesperson from the local fire brigade confirmed. The German training helicopter was in a low-flying exercise shortly before the crash.

Only last week, two Eurofighters of the German Armed Forces collided during air combat exercises and crashed in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Both pilots had managed to operate their ejection seats and a flying instructor survived the accident injured. The pilot of the second plane died.