Five dead as plane collides with helicopter over Italian Alps

Five people were killed and two injured when a helicopter collided with a light aircraft in the Alps in northern Italy, mountain rescue officials said.

Published: 25 January 2019 18:00 CET

Five dead as plane collides with helicopter over Italian Alps

A helicopter over the Italian Alps. File photo: Marco Bertorello/AFP

Italy's mountain rescue service reported “a crash between a helicopter and a light aircraft” on Friday afternoon above the Rutor glacier in the Aosta Valley near France, and sent two helicopters to help.

#ValledAosta, ghiacciaio del #Rutor: le prime immagini video del #SoccorsoAlpino dal luogo dell'incidente. Seguono aggiornamenti. pic.twitter.com/tbZ2eXigET

— Corpo Nazionale Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico (@cnsas_official) January 25, 2019

The rescue service originally reported four victims, before upping the number to five. Another two people were flown to hospital, it said.

Paramedics and firefighters specialized in cutting sheet metal were also on the scene, it said.

The rescue service described the plane involved in the crash as a “tourist aircraft”. Early reports suggest that it may have been a private plane offering heliski tours of Courmayeur, according to Rai News.

According to Italy's Air Safety Agency (ANSV), the collision was between an AS350 helicopter and a Jodel D.140E, a five-seater monoplane.

It's not yet known how many were onboard either aircraft at the time.

#ValledAosta, ghiacciaio del #Rutor: le vittime accertate sono 5. Proseguono le operazioni. Qui la prima foto aerea dal luogo dell'incidente. Seguono aggiornamenti. pic.twitter.com/cHpaVe0PBJ

— Corpo Nazionale Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico (@cnsas_official) January 25, 2019