[Ugnet] 'No Terrorism in Garang Crash'

BALLISTIC experts have ruled out terrorism to have been the cause of the presidential helicopter crash on which Sudanese Vice President, Lt. Dr. Gen. John Garang died on July 30.

A preliminary report compiled by the experts from the United States, Uganda, Kenya and Sudan said there was no evidence to suggest the Presidential helicopter MI-172 was shot down as earlier reports had suggested.

The Ugandan presidential helicopter came down in the Zuria Mountain ranges on the Ugandan-Sudan border killing seven Ugandans and five officials of Sudanese People's Liberation Army/Movement officials. The newly refurbished Russian made aircraft was piloted by Col. Peter Nyakairu, President Museveni's chief pilot.

"The report rules out any possible terrorism act. It says there was no evidence to suggest there was a missile attack involved, or firearms attack from the ground or any kind of explosion before it hit the mountains" an official that has read the report dated August 20 told Daily Monitor.

President Yoweri Museveni, told mourners in Yei, in Southern Sudan that the SPLM leader may not have died as a result of an accident strengthening speculations that it was shot down.

He said he could not rule out sabotage or terrorism, statements that surprised the world after the government had said the aircraft crashed due to bad weather.

The source said the preliminary report by the ballistic experts was after a technical team led by the US National Transportation Safety Board chief investigator, Mr Dennis Jones, made a visit to the crash site near New Site on August 9.

On the team was Mr Kalistratov Yuri of Kazan Helicopters, the aircraft manufacturers and the United Nations. The latter attended as observers and did not sign the report, the source said.

According to the source, some ammunition were picked by the experts from the scene of the crash. These were mainly of AK-47 rifles and a machine gun but were burnt during the crash.

The source said the type of guns and ammunitions corresponded those used by the SPLM fighters. "The experts say that though the guns got burnt and some could have exploded in the process, but the pathologists did not find any bullet wounds on the victims", the source said.

In the report, the investigators give details of each of the bodies of the victims. They said all the 13 bodies on board had been severely burnt in a fireball that engulfed the aircraft destroying it beyond repair.

The source said the experts discovered that Col. Nyakairu was flying the presidential helicopter outside Uganda borders and in particular Southern Sudan for the first time and may not have been acquainted with the terrain.

Another source close to the investigations revealed that the probe team is shifting its focus from terrorism as the likely cause of the accident to concentrate on the possibility of a human error by the pilot or a possible defect in the aircraft's operating systems.

The source said that though the helicopter was fitted with hitech devices to detect high mountains 100kms away, the first crash spot was 500 metres (about 1/2km) from one of the mountain picks before it disintegrated.

Garang had traveled to Uganda on a private visit to consult with President Museveni. After spending a night at Museveni's rural home in Rwakitura, now Kiruhura district, he was given the helicopter to fly to New Site, the SPLM headquarters but crashed on the way.

[Ugnet] 'No Terrorism in Garang Crash'

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