Helikopterhavari - Eventflyging med to maskiner - Argentina - Video nederst

Ganske trist å se dette. Total mangel på situational awareness og null utkikk. Makan! 10 March 2015 Last updated at 05:07 GMT

 

Three French sports personalities die in

Argentina helicopter crash

There were no survivors from the crash

Three French sports personalities are among 10 people killed in a helicopter crash in Argentina, the French presidential office confirms.

Eight French nationals and their two Argentine pilots died when two helicopters collided in La Rioja province in the country's north-west.

Yachtswoman Florence Arthaud, Olympic swimmer Camille Muffat and Olympic boxer Alexis Vastine all died.

The helicopters were involved in the filming of TV survival show Dropped.

"The sudden death of our fellow French nationals is a cause of immense sadness," said a statement from French President Francois Hollande.

The three sports stars killed

Camille Muffat, Alexis Vastine and Florence Arthaud were confirmed dead by President Hollande's office

Camille Muffat, 25, won three medals, including gold in the 400m freestyle in the 2012 London Olympics. She retired from competitive swimming in 2014.

Alexis Vastine, 28, won bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the light-welterweight category. He was narrowly beaten in the quarter-finals of the 2012 Games.

Florence Arthaud, 57, was a hugely accomplished sailor, winning the 1990 Route du Rhum, the prestigious solo Atlantic race. A serious car accident put her in a coma when she was 17.

They crashed near Villa Castelli, about 1,170km (720 miles) from Buenos Aires, according to local officials.

The helicopters were filming Dropped, a popular celebrity show on the channel TF1.

The show flies celebrities into rough terrains by helicopter and films their attempts to find food and shelter.

One of the contestants, former France and Arsenal footballer Sylvain Wiltord, tweeted: "I'm sad for my friends, I'm trembling, I'm horrified, I have no words, I don't want to say anything."

Another cast member, figure skater Philippe Candeloro, was said to be "extremely shocked but unharmed".

The cause of the crash is unclear. Officials have said the weather conditions in the mountainous area where the helicopters went down were good.

"An explosion occurred and it's believed that they must have collided,'' said La Rioja Secretary of Security Cesar Angulo.

"Aeronautical experts will have to determine that," he added.

"We learn with great sadness about the accident during the filming of the Dropped show," said a statement issued by TF1.

"All TF1 teams come together in this terrible time with the pain of the families and relatives of the victims."

TF1 says the show will be postponed and the rest of the crew is returning home.

Criminal Charges Mulled in Fatal Helicopter Midair

The French newspaper Le Monde reported today that the country’s air safety investigation agency, the Air Transportation Gendarmerie or GTA, will open a manslaughter investigation into a midair helicopter collision and post-crash fire that killed 10 in Argentina yesterday during the filming of the French reality/survivalist television show Dropped. Video of the crash posted on YouTube appears to show two Airbus H125s (formerly known as AS350s) flying in formation, then converging into each other. Both Argentine pilots and their eight passengers were killed, among them three prominent French Olympians: gold medal swimmer Camille Muffat, boxer Alexis Vastine and sailor Florence Arthaud. The crash occurred in clear daylight weather at approximately 5:15 p.m. local time (20:15 GMT) near the Andes Mountains and the village of Villa Castelli in La Rioja Province, 730 miles northwest of Buenos Aires. The helicopters were flying at approximately 300 feet agl, according to witnesses.