Rome, Aug 26 (IANS) Two people were killed Wednesday morning when an aircraft crashed near a dam in northern Italy’s Piedmont region, local media said.
The crash occurred at around 11:30 a.m. local time near the Campiccioli dam in the Antrona Schieranco area near the region’s capital city of Turin, according to Ansa news.
The victims were a 60-year-old man and a 63-year-old woman, Ansa said.
Air rescue services were dispatched to the crash site, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Initial reports indicated that the aircraft was an autogyro, also known as a gyroplane, rather than a conventional helicopter. An autogyro is equipped with an overhead rotor that is not directly connected to the engine.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the crash.
Italy’s Adnkronos news agency added that the ultralight helicopter crashed Wednesday morning, around 11:30 AM local time, near the artificial lake of Campliccioli, in the territory of Antrona Schieranco, in Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, catching fire after impact.
Firefighter teams from the Vco command promptly intervened on site, supported by the ‘Drago’ helicopter from the Malpensa flight department, for rescue and fire extinguishing operations, and air ambulance services.
There are two victims – a 60-year-old man and a 63-year-old woman – Adnkronos mentioned.
On August 8, at least four people were killed when a helicopter crashed in a forested area in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, firefighters said.
The crash occurred at about 11:11 am (local time) in the Vista Chinesa area of Alto da Boa Vista on August 8. The local fire department was called to the scene and later located the wreckage in an area of dense vegetation.
Specialised teams reached the crash site by land, while firefighting units were also deployed to extinguish a fire that broke out after the helicopter went down.
The crash involved a pilot and three Colombian women who were members of the same family.
Authorities initially confirmed four deaths but had not yet released the victims’ details.
Rio’s mayor Eduardo Cavaliere posted to X: “My solidarity to the families of the victims of the helicopter accident that happened today near Vista Chinesa within the Tijuca National Park.”
He added that he had been in contact with Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency, ANAC: “@prefeitura_rio has requested that ANAC take immediate action to intensify oversight and ensure safety in helicopter flights that are circulating with increasing frequency in our city. We place the entire apparatus of @prefeitura_rio at the disposal of ANAC to support the measures and actions that may be necessary.”
–IANS
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