Fire on Snowdonia mountain after RAF helicopter performs emergency landing and bursts into flames

All crew members exited safely before the aircraft caught on fire

A fire on a peak in Snowdonia following a reported helicopter crash on 9 August (Huw Price)

An RAF helicopter has burst into flames after performing an emergency landing on a peak in Snowdonia.

The Ministry of Defence said the Griffin helicopter had a technical issue and caught fire after landing safely.

“A Griffin training helicopter safely completed a precautionary landing in Snowdonia this afternoon following a technical issue," a spokesperson said. "Everyone on board exited safely, subsequently the aircraft caught fire.”

A fire on a peak in Snowdonia following a reported helicopter crash on 9 August (Philippa Napper)

Four military personnel and a civilian were in the helicopter when it landed and a sixth member of the RAF was on the ground at the time. They were all transported from the landing site.

Huw Price, who was climbing Mount Snowdon at the time of the incident, said he saw the aircraft burst into "huge flames".

"One guy on his way down from the summit said he saw a helicopter land there," he wrote on Twitter. "Another had binoculars and reckons flames 10ft plus."

An spokesperson for the Welsh Ambulance Service said: “We were called at about 1.50pm to reports of an incident in the Snowdonia area.

“The Wales Air Ambulance has been sent to respond.”

The incident was near the Watkin Path in Llanberis, which is a popular spot for hikers and climbers near Wales's highest peak

Griffin training helicopters are used at the Search and Rescue Training Unit RAF Valley on Angelsey, where the Duke of Cambridge was based during his time as a pilot.