THE first British servicewoman to be killed in action for more than 20 years died in the helicopter crash in Basra on Saturday, the Ministry of Defence said yesterday.
Flight Lieutenant Sarah Mulvihill, 32, was killed with four other RAF personnel when their Lynx helicopter came down in the southern Iraqi city, with local reports claiming that it was hit by a rocket or missile. Her widower, Lee, is also in the RAF.
Technology is fitted to Lynx helicopters to protect them from surface-to-air missiles, but not rocket-propelled grenades.
The MoD named her colleagues, who are "missing believed killed" as Wing Commander John Coxen, 46, Lieutenant Commander Darren Chapman, 40, Captain David Dobson, 27, and Marine Paul Collins, 21. Wing Cdr Coxen is the most senior ranking member of the forces to die in the conflict in Iraq.
Ulster Defence Regiment Corporal Heather Kerrigan, 20, was killed by an IRA landmine in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland in July 1984.
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