At least four people died and one is still missing after a helicopter returning from a firefighting mission crashed into the Douro River in northern Portugal. The country has declared a day of mourning.
The crash happened shortly after 12.30 p.m. as the helicopter was returning from a firefighting mission near Baiao, near the city of Porto, but the cause of the accident has not yet determined. On board, apart from the pilot, was a team of five specialists from the Emergency Protection and Relief Unit.
Four people died as a result, one is missing, while the pilot survived due to a tourist boat close to the scene of the accident and transported to hospital with fractured legs. According to the press office of the country’s civil defence authority, all the dead, aged between 29 and 45, are members of the Emergency Protection and Rescue Unit (UEPS) of the national gendarmerie, the country’s civil protection authority reported in a communique.
“Two bodies were inside the aircraft and another two were found near the tail of the aircraft, which was broken in two. (…) We’re doing underwater searches around the helicopter and on the banks,” Rui Silva Lampreia, commander of the Douro Harbour Authority, told reporters.
Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, who arrived at the crash site, told reporters that Saturday would be a day of national mourning.
