Peruvian Air Force claims 5 dead as rescuers find missing military helicopter
The Peruvian Defense Ministry announced that the Mi-171Sh helicopter had failed to reach its destination and communication were eventually lost
- World News
- 2 min read
The Peruvian Air Force in a key development stated that a search and rescue squad has located a national military helicopter that went missing on Tuesday in which all five onboard crew members died in the tragic crash. As per Xinhua, the five deceased Peruvian Air Force helicopter members were found in the Lima area on Wednesday. The Peruvian Defense Ministry announced on December 7, Tuesday that the Mi-171Sh helicopter had failed to reach its destination and that connections, as well as communication with the chopper, were eventually lost.
Following the information, a search and rescue mission was initiated, but soon it was halted due to severe weather conditions. As per a statement from the Air Force on Wednesday, "On early December 8, a special unit of the air force, which was engaged in the search operation, found the aircraft that had been missing since yesterday ... in the Lima region. Unfortunately, five crew members have died," ANI reported.
According to the air force, the helicopter was taken off at noon on Tuesday from the Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima before losing touch and was further located by armed forces patrols. As per Xinhua, the MI-171SH chopper lost touch at San Mateo, some 70 kilometres east of Lima, prompting officials to launch an air and ground investigation later finding the crashed military helicopter by Peruvian rescuers.
'They gave their lives, fulfilling their duty': President of Peru on military helicopter crash
Further, President of Peru, Pedro Castillo offered his condolences for the soldiers' deaths on Twitter, saying that "I deeply regret the death of the 5 crew members of the @fapperu helicopter in Huarochirí. They gave their lives, fulfilling their duty, in favour of those most in need. My condolences to his relatives and colleagues in our heroic Peruvian Air Force."
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At the time of the crash, the troops were on an assignment for the Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion, as per the ANews website. The air force authorised an emergency inquiry to identify the cause of the military helicopter crash after continuing the search and discovering the remains.