![\"\"](\"http:\/\/en.bornomalanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/heli-300x168.jpg\")
International Desk: A helicopter has crashed in the French Alps killing five of the six people on board, officials say.<\/p>\nInternational Desk: A helicopter has crashed in the French Alps killing five of the six people on board, officials say.<\/p>\n
The aircraft, owned by a private company, was carrying out a rescue mission when it went down near the town of Bonvillard in the Savoie area.<\/p>\n
The cause of the crash is unclear, but officials say it could have been caused by poor weather.<\/p>\n
The alarm was raised by the pilot who managed to escape from the helicopter and was found seriously injured.<\/p>\n
The helicopter belongs to Service A\u00e9rien Fran\u00e7ais, a private company that conducts search-and-rescue missions and other air services across France.<\/p>\n
In a tweet, French President Emmanuel Macron shared “support from the nation to the families, friend and colleagues of these French heroes”.<\/p>\n
What do we know about the crash?<\/p>\n
French authorities said the helicopter – a Eurocopter EC135 – was carrying an air rescue crew on a training mission when it fell from an altitude of 1,800 metres (5,900ft).<\/p>\n
The surviving pilot raised the alarm at around 19:10 local time (18:10 GMT) after managing to escape from the helicopter.<\/p>\n
\n
The crew onboard consisted of two pilots – one in training – along with two winch operators and two mountain rescue workers.<\/p>\n
Police union Synergie-Officiers has named Amaury Lagroy de Croutte as one of the victims. Since 2018, Mr de Croutte had led a local mountain unit of the CRS, France's riot police.<\/p>\n
Three helicopters have been sent to the site as part of a rescue team of over 40 people. But the aircraft have been unable to reach the site due to fog. Instead, the pilot was recovered by a group of rescuers who approached on foot.<\/p>\n
French Interior Minister G\u00e9rald Darmanin has said he will visit the site of the incident on Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
International Desk: A helicopter has crashed in the French Alps killing five of the six people on board, officials say. The aircraft, owned by a private company, was carrying out a rescue mission when it went down near the town of Bonvillard in the Savoie area. The cause of the crash is unclear, but officials […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":64643,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,14],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n