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Global

French army helicopter crashes off Gabon


    PARIS (Reuters) - Seven French soldiers were killed when a French army helicopter crashed into the sea off the coast of Gabon during a joint military exercise, President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said on Sunday.

    The helicopter, an AS 532 Cougar, had 10 soldiers on board. Two were rescued and one was missing.

    The reasons for the accident were not known. Sarkozy's office said in a statement an inquiry was under way.

    (Reporting by Guy Kerivel and Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Andrew Dobbie)