French army helicopter crashes in Ivory Coast, 1 dead

PARIS (Reuters) - A French military helicopter crashed in Ivory Coast while on a training mission, killing the pilot and seriously wounding a second crew member, the French army said on Wednesday.

The Gazelle helicopter came down about 20 kilometres (12 miles) east of the Ivorian commercial capital, Abidjan.

"The cause of the accident is still to be determined," the French army said in a statement.

Both helicopter crew were transferred to a French military base at Port Bouet, where the pilot died. The other crewman is being airlifted to France for further treatment, the army said.

(Reporting by Caroline Pailliez; Writing by Richard Lough; editing by John Stonestreet)