Military helicopter crashes, five dead

A military helicopter crashed in northern Ivory Coast while on a reconnaissance mission near the border with Burkina Faso.

All the five crew members died, the defence ministry said on Friday.

An investigation has been opened to determine the cause of the crash, the ministry said.

The ministry initially reported the helicopter missing.

Ivory Coast’s borderlands with Burkina Faso have emerged as hotspots of insecurity in the past year.

This followed several attacks by Islamist militants believed to be linked to al Qaeda.