 Medical choppers collision kills 6
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-01 07:58 A helicopter ferrying a patient with a medical emergency from the Grand Canyon collided into another chopper carrying a patient near a northern Arizona hospital, leaving six people dead and critically injuring a nurse. The collision on Sunday east of Flagstaff Medical Center was a few hundred yards away from a neighborhood that was spared the falling debris. Officials said they were unable to provide an account of what preceded the crash. Lawrence Garduno, who lives about a half mile from the crash, said he heard a loud boom that rattled the windows. An explosion on one of the aircraft after the crash injured two emergency workers who arrived with a ground ambulance company. They suffered minor burns and were spending the night at the hospital, but their injuries were not life-threatening. The crash, about 209 km north of Phoenix, also sparked a 4.05-hectare brush fire that was contained. One of the helicopters was operated by Air Methods from Englewood, Colorado, and the other was from Classic Helicopters of Woods Cross, Utah. Both aircraft were Bell 407 models, said Ian Gregor, a spokesman with the Federal Aviation Administration. Three people on the Air Methods aircraft died. On the Classic helicopter, the pilot, paramedic and patient all died. A flight nurse on the Classic helicopter suffered extensive injuries and was in critical condition at the hospital. It was the largest loss of life involving helicopters in Arizona since two news helicopters collided last summer while covering an auto chase near Phoenix, killing all four people on board. Agencies (China Daily 07/01/2008 page12) |
