SYDNEY, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- An Aircrane fire fighting helicopter has crashed into a small body of water in eastern Australia on Monday evening, with the three-person crew escaping and swimming to safety.
The chopper, nicknamed Christine, was fighting a blaze in remote Gippsland in the State of Victoria when it crashed into the dam where it remains submerged.
Victorian emergency management commissioner Andrew Crisp said that the pilot and two engineers on board were initially flown to Latrobe Valley Hospital for assessment.
"They were examined for some minor injuries and shock, as you'd imagine, but I believe they've been released from hospital now," he said.
According to Crisp, the cause of the crash is not yet clear, however as a precaution the nation's five other Aircrane choppers have been grounded until they can be deemed safe.
"I don't really want to speculate, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has been notified, they'll have an investigator on the ground here this morning," Crisp said.
Aircranes are one of the largest firebombing aircrafts in the world with a capacity to hold up to 9,000 litres of water.
