Portugal: 4 dead after firefighter helicopter crash

At least four people were killed and one was missing after a helicopter crashed in the Lamego area of northern Portugal on Friday.

The helicopter crashed into the River Douro while it was on its way back from a firefighting mission near the town of Baiao.

The pilot survived the crash and was taken to hospital with leg fractures.

Rui Silva Lampreia, the head of the National Maritime Authority, told Portuguese media that two bodies were pulled from the submerged aircraft.

He said that aerial and ground searches were underway for the three missing. “We’re doing underwater searches around the helicopter and on the banks.”

Portugal’s civil protection authority said that the five passengers were all members of the Emergency Protection and Rescue Unit (UEPS) of the national gendarmerie.

Prime Minister Luis Montengro traveled to the scene of the incident.

Authorities have yet to determine the cause of the accident.

Portuguese daily Jornal de Noticias reported that tourist activities were suspended in the area as rescue operations were ongoing.

Dozens of first responders, maritime police, divers and two Air Force helicopters were involved in the search.