Rescue officials were late yesterday afternoon searching for a helicopter which crashed in one of Lusikisiki’s deep gorges.
Though it was not clear at the time of writing, how many people were travelling in the chopper at the time, police confirmed it had crashed in Lusikisiki's Msikaba area in rainy weather.
Port St Johns police spokesman Captain Mduduzi Godlwana said police rescue teams had been sent to the scene.
“The helicopter crash was seen by a person who was in the area and he saw it as it went down and crashed in Msikaba.
“Currently it is difficult to reach the place but police have been sent to the scene. We are also not sure which company it belonged to or how many people were on board,” Godlwana said.
An officer at Eastern Cape Emergency Services, (EMS) also confirmed this to the Daily Dispatch late yesterday afternoon.
The official, who could not release his name as he is not authorised to speak to the media, said they received a call after the crash and they immediately sent their EMS staff to the scene to investigate.
“We are also not sure of the type of the helicopter or how many people were there or the extent of their injuries.”
Eastern Cape health spokesman Siyanda Manana confirmed that two teams from Port St Johns and Lusikisiki had been sent to the crash site.
“There’s been a helicopter crash and we’ve sent two ground teams to respond to this.
“For now we are still in the dark the extent of the accident,” said Manana.
He said the bad weather was making it difficult for them to deploy their helicopter or for the South African National Defence Force to respond.
“We can confirm that our EMS ground teams are doing their very best to reach the crash site,” he said.— bonganif@dispatch.co.za
Chopper crash prompts huge rescue search
Though it was not clear at the time of writing, how many people were travelling in the chopper at the time, police confirmed it had crashed in Lusikisiki's Msikaba area in rainy weather.
Port St Johns police spokesman Captain Mduduzi Godlwana said police rescue teams had been sent to the scene.
“The helicopter crash was seen by a person who was in the area and he saw it as it went down and crashed in Msikaba.
“Currently it is difficult to reach the place but police have been sent to the scene. We are also not sure which company it belonged to or how many people were on board,” Godlwana said.
An officer at Eastern Cape Emergency Services, (EMS) also confirmed this to the Daily Dispatch late yesterday afternoon.
The official, who could not release his name as he is not authorised to speak to the media, said they received a call after the crash and they immediately sent their EMS staff to the scene to investigate.
“We are also not sure of the type of the helicopter or how many people were there or the extent of their injuries.”
Eastern Cape health spokesman Siyanda Manana confirmed that two teams from Port St Johns and Lusikisiki had been sent to the crash site.
“There’s been a helicopter crash and we’ve sent two ground teams to respond to this.
“For now we are still in the dark the extent of the accident,” said Manana.
He said the bad weather was making it difficult for them to deploy their helicopter or for the South African National Defence Force to respond.
“We can confirm that our EMS ground teams are doing their very best to reach the crash site,” he said.— bonganif@dispatch.co.za
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos