World | Chinook helicopters Witnesses Recount Helicopter Tragedy Chinook burst into flames, crashed in pieces By Evann Gastaldo Posted Aug 11, 2011 11:45 AM CDT Copied Wreckage of a Chinook helicopter shot down last week is seen at the site of crash at Tangi Valley in Wardak province , Aug. 11, 2011. (AP Photo/ Mohammad Nasir) As soon as the Chinook helicopter carrying 30 American troops and eight Afghans was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired from a hillside, it burst into flames, a witness tells the AP. "After it started burning, it crashed. It came down in three pieces. We could see it burning from our homes." The victims' bodies were mangled and burned, he continues. Another witness says burning wreckage was scattered on both sides of the Tangi river. Coalition forces removed the remains and wreckage over several days, but the AP notes that small chopper pieces still litter the field. Other recent violence has seen five NATO troops and another service member killed in two roadside bombings and five Afghan policemen killed by Taliban insurgents. So far this year, 374 members of international forces have been killed. Read These Next Minneapolis shooter had a plan—and grievances. American Taylor Townsend gets an earful after her US Open win. The Air Force has changed its tune on Ashli Babbitt. Open that wallet big time for a trip to Disney, if you can afford it. Report an error