Associated Press

BOGOTA, Colombia, Jan. 24 -- Colombia's military destroyed a U.S. government helicopter to keep it from falling into the hands of leftist guerrillas who forced it
down during an anti-drug mission, Colombian and U.S. officials said today.

Five police officers were killed protecting the downed UH-1N aircraft and three soldiers were wounded. There were no Americans aboard the helicopter when it
was hit by ground fire last week.

The crew, which included Colombian police officers and a Peruvian pilot working for DynCorp of Reston, Va., was evacuated unharmed, the officials said. DynCorp
is a State Department contractor that provides personnel for anti-drug efforts in Colombia under a $1.3 billion U.S. program of mostly military aid.

Hovering over the downed aircraft was a second U.S. Huey helicopter with a search-and-rescue team that included Americans and Colombians also working for
DynCorp, said Col. Carlos Rivera, deputy director of Colombia's anti-narcotics police force. The team was not called into action, he said.

The helicopter was destroyed to prevent its capture by guerrillas, said a U.S. Embassy official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Although the downing and the deaths were reported on Jan. 18, the day they occurred, officials did not reveal at the time that it was a U.S. government aircraft.

The incident marked the second time in less than a year that rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia have shot down or forced down a helicopter on
an anti-drug mission.

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