Plane crash dead identified

A senior Afghan administrator offered condolences Thursday for the crash of a U.S. Air Force special operations MC-130 aircraft in eastern Afghanistan the day before that killed three people.

"We want to express our deep regrets over the loss of life of three American airmen between Paktia and Ghazni province," said Ashraf Ghani, senior adviser to Hamid Karzai, newly elected as Afghanistan's head of state.

"We deeply appreciate the efforts of the coalition to rid our country of terrorists, and our hearts go out to the families of these servicemen, and our deepest sympathies are conveyed," Ghani said.

The crash occurred Wednesday afternoon local time, near Bande Sardeh Dam, 30 miles southeast of Gardez. The plane was carrying seven Air Force crew members and three military passengers.

The Defense Department on Thursday released the names of the three service members killed in the crash: Air Force Tech. Sgt. Sean M. Corlew, 37, Thousand Oaks, Calif.; Air Force Staff Sgt. Anissa A. Shero, 31, of Grafton, W.Va.; and Army Sgt. 1st Class Peter P. Tycz, 31, of Tonawanda, N.Y.

Corlew and Shero were assigned to the Air Force's 16th Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Fla. Tycz was assigned to the Army's 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, N.C.

U.S. Central Command, in overall charge of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, said the survivors were taken to Kandahar airfield, base of U.S. operations in the southern region of the country. Injuries were said to range from a broken leg to cuts and bruises.

A military spokesman said the crash took place shortly after takeoff, but declined to say from where. The cause of the incident is under investigation, but it did not appear to be the result of hostile fire, the spokesman said.

The MC-130 is a modified version of the C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft.

(With reporting by Pamela Hess, UPI Pentagon correspondent, from Kabul, Afghanistan)