Eight military soldiers were killed when their helicopter and fighter plane both crashed in severe weather in eastern Romania near the Black Sea, marking the worst day of air force mishaps in recent years.
The IAR 330 Puma helicopter crashed on Wednesday in the area of Gura Dobrogei, 11km (seven miles) from the airfield, killing all seven on board, the defence ministry said.
All IAR 330 Puma and MiG LanceR aircraft will be grounded while the cause of the crash is under investigation.
Recall that, in July 2010, 12 people were killed and two injured when an AN-2 aircraft crashed on a parachute training flight mission, shortly after takeoff.
Over the past months of growing regional tensions, Romania has repeatedly demanded reinforcements be sent to NATO's eastern flank.
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