(VOVworld) - A helicopter belonging to Libya’s Tripoli-based government was shot down Tuesday, killing at least nine passengers.

A helicopter was shot down near Libya's northwestern Mediterranean coast on Oct. 27, 2015, killing at least 12 people. (Photo by Przemek Tokar/ Shutterstock.com)

The aircraft, carrying 16 people, was hit shortly before noon and crashed into the sea near Al-Maya, just west of Tripoli, said Colonel Mustafa Sharkasi, a spokesman for the Tripoli-based air force. Colonel Sharkasi said the aircraft was carrying 16 people including Colonel Hussein Abu Diyya,” a senior officer in the Fajr Libya militia that controls the capital. He said so far nine bodies, including the body of Colonel Hussein Abu Diyya have been recovered. Tripoli authorities said it is likely that everyone on board is dead. The internationally recognized government in eastern Libya denied it had anything to do with the incident.

Libya descended into chaos after the October 2011 ouster and killing of longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Two governments are vying for power, and armed groups are battling for control of Libya’s vast energy resources. The capital was overrun in August 2014 by the Islamist Fajr Libya militia alliance which established a rival government and parliament and forced the internationally recognised administration to flee to Libya’s remote east.