Helicopter crashes in French Alps with six passengers onboard
Forty rescue personnel involved in search operation
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A helicopter with six passengers on-board has crashed in the French Alps and a search and rescue operation has begun, local authorities have said.
The crash occurred at an altitude of 1,800 metres on Tuesday afternoon in south-eastern France near the town of Bovillard, according to a statement released by the Savoie prefecture.
Four of the six passengers are employees of the private company Service Aérien Francais and the other two are first-aid workers.
Authorities were alerted to the incident a little after 7pm local time by the helicopter’s pilot, who managed to eject himself from the aircraft.
A team of 40 people is involved in the ongoing rescue operations. While a ground crew and a doctor were able to reach the zone by 8.20 CET, three helicopters that were deployed could not get close to the crash site because of thick fog.
The prefecture also confirmed that rescuers had managed to establish contact with one of the people who had been on the helicopter.
In a separate statement, France’s air accident bureau said it had started an investigation into the accident and would send a team to the site.
Additional reporting by Reuters
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments