Probe launched into Limpopo helicopter crash

Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Ronel Otto said the private helicopter which belongs to Henli Air, Jhb Rand Airport was installing antennas in the Blouberg Mountains and experienced technical difficulties before it crashed into a pole on Tuesday, Review Online reported.

“The deceased are pilot David Boul and passenger Ronald Matsunga. The third passenger, Phineas Sekwela, was injured when he hit the electric cables. He either jumped or fell out of the helicopter before it crashed,” Otto said.

She said Sekwela was transferred to the Helen Frans Hospital. His condition is still unknown.

Yesterday, ER24 spokesperson Russel Meiring said paramedics arrived on scene and found the smouldering wreckage of a helicopter lying in a field roughly 200 metres away from the hospital.

Provincial fire services had already extinguished the blaze prior the arrival of paramedics.

“On assessment, paramedics found the remains of two occupants lying inside the helicopter. Unfortunately both occupants had already succumbed to their injuries,” added Meiring.

In a separate incident, a 50-year-old man died, while his wife and son were injured, when theirhelicopter crashed in Delareyville, North West, in May.

“It is alleged that the pilot [husband] and his family were from the Serapa Safari in Tosca outside Vryburg at the time of the accident. At this stage, the cause of the incident was unknown and the Civil Aviation [Authority] is investigating.”

– Caxton News Service