Egypt has expressed its condolences to the United States, France, the Czech Republic and the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) on the Sinai Peninsula on Friday over the deaths of eight soldiers in a helicopter crash.

According to a press release from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, the accident was caused by a mechanical failure in the helicopter that was carrying the MFO soldiers over the Tiran island, in the Red Sea, near the Gulf of Aqaba.

Although it has been said that the helicopter had a technical failure, experts have just started the investigation into what happened.

Six of the dead soldiers from the crash were from the United States, one from France and the other one from the Czech Republic; also, one MFO soldier was injured and is receiving treatment.