map.
French investigators were Wednesday seeking to ascertain
the cause of the crash of a mountain rescue helicopter in the Alps
that left five dead with only the pilot surviving but badly
wounded.
The helicopter, an Airbus EC135 operated by a private firm,
crashed Tuesday evening around the town of Bonvillard just outside
Albertville, one of the main resorts in the French Alps.
The prefect, the top local official, for the Savoy region Pascal
Bolot said of the five passengers and pilot on board only the pilot
had survived but was badly wounded.
Despite difficult weather conditions with fog at the crash site
1,800 metres (6,000 feet) above sea level, he was evacuated to
hospital. Bolot said it was the pilot himself who had raised the
alarm.
He added that an investigation has been opened by the prosecutor
for Albertville but did not offer any explanation over how the
crash happened.
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French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin is also due at the
scene later Wednesday. Investigators from France’s Bureau of
Enquiry and Analysis (BEA) agency for aviation are also set to
arrive.
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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 said on its Twitter account.
The other three killed were employees of the private firm that
operated the helicopter and also employed the pilot.
“To save lives, they take all the risks,” President Emmanuel
Macron said in a tweet, paying tribute to those killed and the
pilot “fighting for his life”.
AFP
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