TWO CHOPPERS CRASH NEAR TEXAS-MEXICO BORDER, KILLING FOUR

FALCON HEIGHTS, Texas- Two military helicopters taking part in a nighttime
anti-drug patrol crashed and burned in the dusty scrubland near the Mexican
border, killing all four Marine reservists on board. The AH1W Super Cobra
helicopters went down Wednesday night amid the brush and cactus of Falcon
State Park, about 110 miles northwest of Brownsville. Marine Corps spokesman
Capt. Joe Kloppel said he had no immediate information on the cause of the
crash.

However, witnesses said they saw the helicopters collide. "They definitely
collided," said resident Norman Ross, 63. "You heard the explosion. ... We
could feel a slight vibration in our camper from it." Another resident,
Larry Sholl, said he "heard a loud boom and all of a sudden the engines in
the helicopters quit, so I went outside and looked and there was a ball of
fire." He said he saw another fireball close by. "There was nobody that
could have survived that," said Sholl, 67. "There was no way to help them."

Each unarmed helicopter carried a crew of two from Camp Pendleton, Calif.,
but was operating out of the Army's Fort Bliss in El Paso. The victims were
identified as Lt. Col. Robert Theilmann, 47, of Suffolk, N.Y.; Majs. John
Walsh, 36, of Oakland, Mich., and Steven Palombo, 36 of Sterling Heights,
Mich.; and Capt. David Cross, 34, of Centre, Pa. Two other helicopters
involved in the operation landed safely, said Marine Forces Reserve
spokesman Al Foucha. He did not know how close they were to the two that
crashed.

Officials said the helicopters were assisting the Border Patrol as part of
Joint Task Force Six, a Pentagon unit that takes part in anti-drug
operations and other missions.

"The helicopters were conducting a nighttime aviation reconnaissance
counter-drug operations," said Armando Carrasco, a spokesman for Joint Task
Force Six. A detachment of six helicopters and 53 Marines was deployed to
the region Jan. 17, authorities said. Their mission has been suspended.