Italy Helicopter Crash Kills All 6 Aboard
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Officials say a helicopter ferrying an injured skier off the slopes crashed into a central Italian mountainside and killed all six people aboard, in the latest tragedy to hit a region slammed by recent earthquakes, heavy snowfall and an avalanche.
Television footage and photographs from the scene showed the helicopter was smashed to pieces in the snow, with only the tail propellers and rear section still intact. Rescue crews brought the bodies down in sleds to waiting snowcats.
The crash took place in the same mountain range as the avalanche, but the two incidents weren't related.
An official with the carabinieri forestry police in the regional capital of L'Aquila said all six people were killed. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information, AP reported.
Italy's civil protection agency spokesman Luigi D'Angelo said those on board included the skier, medical personnel and flight crew.
Poor visibility had slowed the arrival of rescue crews, and eyewitnesses said heavy clouds blanketed the area at the time of the crash.
