Peru's air force locates 7 victims of helicopter crash

Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-09 08:15:13|Editor: huaxia

Debris of an aircraft remain at the crash site in the district of Villa Maria del Triunfo, Lima Province, Peru, on Aug. 26, 2015.(Xinhua/Diana Marcelo/ANDINA)

Peru's President Martin Vizcarra expressed his condolences to the families of the victims, who he said were on a mission to deliver food supplies to vulnerable communities in the Amazon region amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

LIMA, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Peru's Air Force (FAP) on Wednesday said it located the remains of seven people whose MI-17 military helicopter disappeared over the Peruvian Amazon on Tuesday.

After resuming the search and rescue operation earlier in the day, the FAP found "the aircraft that crashed near the community of Chija ... in the province of Bagua," in the north of the country.

Among the dead were four crew members and three passengers, the air force said in a statement.

An investigation has been launched "to determine the causes of the regrettable accident," the FAP said.

Peru's President Martin Vizcarra expressed his condolences to the families of the victims, who he said were on a mission to deliver food supplies to vulnerable communities in the Amazon region amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Certain parts of the rainforest can only be accessed by air, "and this was one of those cases," said Vizcarra.

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