Italian rescue helicopter crash kills six
Six people have died in Italy after a rescue helicopter crashed during while airlifting a wounded skier.
Six people have died in Italy after a rescue helicopter crashed during while airlifting a wounded skier. The crash happened near the resort of Campo Felice, near the site of a recent avalanche that has caused the deaths of 14 guests of a hotel after it was submerged. The helicopter crew included two who had been involved in the rescue operation at the hotel.
The helicopter, which photos suggest was an AW139 registered to Inaer Italia, tail number EC-KJT, was dispatched south of L’Aquila in order to rescue a man who had a broken limb. Italian media reported that the helicopter was flying in poor weather conditions, with thick fog and low clouds, but the pilot decided that the conditions were safe enough to make the flight. The aircraft crashed into Mount Cefalone at an altitude of about 600 m (2,000 ft). It is thought that the crash was due either to an electrical fault or due to hitting cables.
The helicopter was destroyed upon impact, with the pilot, two members of the alpine service crew, a doctor, a rescue operator and the wounded man all being killed upon impact.