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A helicopter with three U.S.
senators aboard made an emergency landing in Afghanistan because of bad weather
Thursday.
Democratic Sens. Joseph Biden of Delaware
and John Kerry or Massachusetts, and
Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska
were aboard of the military helicopter that made an emergency landing because of
a snowstorm.
“The weather closed in on us. It went pretty blind, pretty fast and we were
around some pretty dangerous ridges. So the pilot exercised his judgment that
we were better off putting down there, and we all agreed. We were fine. The
pilots were outstanding. The military handled it superbly ... It was as clean
and as smooth as any landing anywhere,” Kerry told The Associated Press in a
telephone interview.
Now one was injured, he added. According to Pentagon
officials, the incident happened at approximately 8:30 a.m. ET.
After the landing, the three senators, all members of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, were taken by convoy to Bagram Air Base, from
where they were left for Ankara,
Turkey.
"After several hours, the senators were evacuated by American troops
and returned overland to Bagram Air base, and left for their next scheduled stop
in Ankara, Turkey," Kerry spokesman David Wade said, according to CNN.
The senators are on a trip to Pakistan,
Afghanistan, India, and Turkey. They were observers for Pakistan’s elections and also visited U.S. troops in Afghanistan
before continuing on Turkey
and India
to talk with government leaders.
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