(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-03-11 16:13

ABIDJAN, Cote d'Ivoire -- A French army helicopter crashed near the central city of Bouake in Cote d'Ivoire, with both crew members escaping unhurt, the army said in a statement Monday.

"About 13:45 local time (GMT), a Gazelle helicopter belonging to the French Licorne Force crashed above a dam some kilometers south of Bouake," the statement from the Licorne base in Cote d'Ivoire said.

An error of the pilot was indicated as the possible cause of the accident.

The French army has already launched an investigation into the crash.

Deployed in 2002, the French peacekeeping force of 1,800 troops operate in the former French colony under a United Nations mandate and back up a larger UN peacekeeping force of nearly 8,000 soldiers stationed there.