In Venezuela a military helicopter has crashed near the Colombian border, killing sixteen soldiers and one civilian.

A rescue worker walks nex to the debris of a crashed helicopter in El Alto de Rubio, Venezuela, Sunday, May 3, 2009. [Gustavo Delgado/AP Photo]

A brigadier general was among those killed. Venezuela's President, Hugo Chavez, said the soldiers were patrolling the border separating Venezuela and Colombia when the local military base lost contact with their helicopter shortly after midday on Sunday.