Girl, 3, among seven youngsters killed in military helicopter crash with their general dads as first victims pictured
A 3-YEAR-old girl is among seven youngsters killed in a horror helicopter crash in Peru.
The children were on board the military chopper with their air force general dads when it disappeared from the radar.
All 15 people on board – 11 passengers and four crew members – were killed in the disaster.
Peruvian Colonel Javier Nole Gonzales, 50, and crew member Major FAP Sergio Danner Paucar Centurion have since been the first victims pictured.
The disaster happened in Chala Viejo, southern Peru, after the aircraft vanished from radar and killed everyone on board the Peruvian Air Force chopper.
The Mi-17 helicopter lost radio contact yesterday afternoon, prompting an intense search of the area.
The aircraft was on its way to help with search and rescue missions after Peru‘s Arequipa was ravaged by floods.
It took off from Pisco, also scheduled to help with paratrooper training activities.
But it never arrived at its planned destination of Chala.
The four crew members who died were named by the Peruvian Air Force as Sergio Danner Paucar Centurión, Luis Fernando Huertas Cárcamo, Kamila Chapi Anchapuri Jove, and Leiner Aguirre Huamán.
Flight logs reveal that the youngest child killed in the crash, Alesia Guerrero, who was just three years old.
A ten-year-old was also killed, as well as three 14-year-olds, a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old.
The adult passengers who died were Colonel FAP Javier Nole Gonzales, 50, Elisa Bernel Paredes, 49, and Zoila Fernandez Medina, 45.
The Peruvian Air Force said in a statement that it “expresses its deepest condolences and its total solidarity with the relatives of our brave companions in arms and of the passengers who died in this unfortunate accident”.
It said that it would give the friends and families of the victims “all necessary support and assistance” “in this difficult moment”.
A full investigation has been opened into the tragedy.
The statement continued: “The Air Force of Peru joins in national mourning for the loss of these Peruvians in service to the fatherland and family.”
Heavy rain complicated search efforts, local reports said.
The fatal crash comes after a deadly accident which killed six in Brazil.
A mum and her young son died after a speedboat ploughed into a pier and flipped over, trapping those onboard under the water.
Viviane Aparecida Aredes, 35, and her four-year-old boy, Bento Aredes Ferreira, are among the six victims of the tragic night-time accident.
The tragedy unfolded on the Rio Grande river between Rifaina, Sao Paulo state, and Sacramento, Minas Gerais state, Brazil.
