Ex NZ SAS Soldier David ASKIN who was wounded in Afghanistan was killed while flying a helicopter fighting a large fire near Christchurch. Helicopter pilot who died fighting Christchurch fires ex-SAS member David Steven Askin Askin was a former member of the SAS and was understood to have been wounded in the head during a firefight in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2011. The SAS was repelling an attack by the Taliban on the Inter Continental Hotel in Kabul in a five-hour battle. Two members later received New Zealand's second highest military honour for bravery, the Gallantry Star. Four others were honoured for their actions in the same firefight.
