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Five members of mountain rescue team killed in French Alps helicopter crash
Five people have died in a helicopter crash in the French Alps and a sixth person remains seriously injured and is fighting for his life, French President Emmanuel Macron has said. The helicopter, an Airbus EC135 operated by a private firm, crashed on Tuesday evening, 8 December 2020, around the town of Bonvillard just outside Albertville, one of the main resorts in the French Alps. The Savoy region prefect Pascal Bolot, the top local official, said among the six people on board only the flying instructor had survived but was badly injured. Initial reports said that it was the pilot who survived but it was not clear if the flying instructor was himself at the controls of the helicopter at the time of the crash or another pilot.
The mountain rescue helicopter was on a training mission in Savoie and was carrying an air crew when it went down at an altitude of 1 800 metres. The aircraft pilot, who was joined by an additional pilot, two winch operators and two mountain rescue workers, was able to send out an urgent alert. Three rescue helicopters were sent out but were unable to access the accident site due to fog. Meanwhile other rescue teams went out but through ground means. France's air accident bureau has announced it will investigate the crash and dispatch a team to the area. President Macron tweeted that those on board were "heroes". He added, "To save lives, they take all the risks." Two of those killed were members of a special mountain police unit for the Alps; a captain aged 45 and a brigadier aged 39, who were taking part in a training exercise, France’s national police force stated. The other three killed were employees of the private firm that operated the helicopter and also employed the flying instructor. "They did not wear the same uniform but shared the same commitment; to save lives," added Prime Minister Jean Castex. "Their passing leaves the whole nation in mourning," he added. French investigators were probing what caused a mountain rescue helicopter to crash on a training mission in the Alps. He added that an investigation has been opened by the prosecutor for Albertville but did not offer any explanation for how the crash happened. Weather conditions were difficult at the time of the accident, with the local gendarmerie saying there was 40 centimetres of snow on the ground. Sources: Sky News, The News |
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