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ZAMBOANGA CITY – A pilot, copilot, and two flight crew members of an Air Force ambulance helicopter were heading to Jolo, Sulu on Wednesday (September 16) to airlift a victim from the blast when they flew with bad weather. over the province of Basilan.
The S76 Sikorsky helicopter crashed in the Upper Manggas village in the city of Lantawan after 1 p.m.
Major Al-Nasser Abdurakman, an information officer for Edwin Andrews Air Force Base, confirmed that all four on board were killed in the accident.
“All the bodies have been recovered. For now, we do not have concrete details about the cause of the accident, ”said Abdurakman.
The S76 is an ambulance helicopter used for humanitarian missions, including search and rescue operations.
Abdurakman said the team left the airbase around 12:33 p.m. and was expected to land at the Western Mindanao Command heliport when they returned.
Basilan Governor Jim Salliman said that before the accident, a helicopter was seen flying over the city of Isabela at a very low altitude.
Salliman said the helicopter could have been hit by high winds and landed in the city of Lantawan.
“Later, we learned that the helicopter had a forced landing,” added Salliman.
Colonel Domingo Gobway, commander of the Basilan Joint Task Force, told INQUIRER that the helicopter burned after the accident and that the bodies recovered from the crew members were charred beyond recognition.
Gobway said the helicopter, tail No. 202, belonged to the 505th Search and Rescue Group of the Air Force.
TSB
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