A medical emergency helicopter carrying six people crashed in a mountainous area of central Italy on Tuesday, causing the death of all six people abroad.
The crash near the ski resort of Campo Felice in the province of L’Aquila happened during an operation to rescue an injured skier, according to the Prefecture of L’Aquila. The helicopter was flying low in poor weather conditions, with thick fog and low clouds, when it crashed against Mount Cefalone at about 600 metres of altitude around 12:15pm.
Two members of the Guardia di Finanzia police, three medical personnel and the injured skier were killed.
The causes of the accident are still unknown. Yet, the National Agency for Air Safety has opened an investigation into the helicopter crash and is sending an investigative team to the area, which was made inaccessible by the adverse weather conditions, according to a statement.
Though it was not involved in the recent avalanche rescue mission, it was in the same area where 17 people have been found dead in and around a hotel that was covered in rubble and snow. Some of the dead in helicopter accident had even been helping out with the recovery effort.
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