Helicopter crashes in Peruvian Andes; all 14 on board killed
Search and rescue teams found a missing helicopter that crashed into Mount Mamarosa in the Peruvian Andes Saturday morning. Initial reports are that all 14 passengers and crew are dead.
Public domain photo/Yuval Gelber via Wikimedia Commons
Police commander, Raul Aybar told the Associated Press that everyone died in the initial impact because everything is burned and scattered.
According to a Bloomberg News report, the 14 include the pilot and crew member (both Peruvians), 12 foreigners, including eight Koreans, who were going to survey three proposed sites for a hydropower plant near the Inambari river.
The craft went missing on June 6 as it crossed the Andes to return to Cuzco.
South Korea’s foreign ministry said three of the Koreans worked for Samsung C&T and one was an employee for the state-run Korea Water Resources Corp. It said the four other victims worked for two engineering companies.
The helicopter belonged to Helicopteros del Cusco SA, which flies tourists to the Inca citadel of Machu Picchuand transports personnel and cargo for the mining and oil and gas industry.
