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Cairo – A statement from the Multinational Force in Sinai said that a helicopter accident on Thursday killed eight people from the international force tasked with monitoring the implementation of the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel signed in 1979, and they are 6 Americans, a French and a Czech.
The statement confirmed that the helicopter crashed “during a routine mission in the Sharm el-Sheikh area of Egypt,” adding that a US member of the team survived and was taken to hospital.
The statement added that “the multinational force in Sinai will carry out an investigation to find out the causes of the accident,” adding: “So far, there is no information to indicate that it was not an accident.”
“The Israeli army has offered to help an elite unit to rescue the wounded,” said Israeli army spokesman Jonathan Conricus.
“We are seriously investigating the crash of one of our helicopters today,” said Brad Lynch, a senior official with the Cairo force.
The multinational force and observer mission was established after the conclusion of the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty in 1979, with the participation of forces from the United States, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Fiji, France, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Great Britain and Uruguay. Its headquarters are in Rome.
The annexes to the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt provide for the demilitarization of the Sinai, under which a multinational observation force has been deployed since 1981.
This force currently includes just over 1,100 soldiers of various nationalities, including more than 400 American soldiers, spread across the Sinai, which is currently deployed by armed groups of various orientations, including the local branch of the Islamic State.
The United States reduced its participation in the international force in Sinai in 2016, and announced earlier this year that it would review the reduction of its forces participating in the international mission.
In recent years, the Sinai has witnessed numerous attacks by extremists against Egyptian security forces.
