Some 17, including two high-ranking Yemeni army officers, killed in plane crash

Yemeni television has announced that some 17 Yemeni army officers and soldiers were killed, including two high-ranking army officers, in a helicopter crash in southeast Yemen.

The Yemeni Defense Ministry said on Saturday that the army's deputy chief of staff was among the victims.

Yemeni television quoted a statement by the Yemeni Defense Ministry as saying that the helicopter crashed on Saturday night in the Hadramout area while the two army officers were making an inspection tour of the area.

The statement added that two of the officers killed were major generals and another three were colonels.