Seven people have died after a helicopter crashed in Italy. The plane disappeared from radar screens on Thursday, prompting a huge emergency response. Today, rescuers confirmed that they had found the crash site and discovered the bodies of seven people. The helicopter had taken off from Lucca in Tuscany and was heading to the northern city of Treviso. It was flying through a remote area in bad weather when the connection was lost. Authorities in Modena, Italy, said today: “Rescuers found dead the seven passengers of the helicopter, four of Turkish and two Lebanese nationals, who were on a business trip to Italy.” The pilot, who also went missing, was Italian. The wreckage of the helicopter was found in a mountainous area on the border between Tuscany and the region of Emilia Romagna. Alpine Rescue helicopter flies over helicopter crash site near Pievepelago, Italy (Image: Reuters) Seven bodies were found among the wreckage by rescue teams (Image: Reuters) Prosecutors have cordoned off the area of the crash as part of an investigation into the incident. In a video posted on the Italian Air Force’s Twitter account, rescuers provided information about the search. One team member said: “We got the coordinates, went to the site and found everything burned. “The helicopter is basically in a valley, near a stream.” Special teams of firefighters were among the correspondents sent to the crash site (Image: Getty Images) The plane went missing in a wooded, mountainous area of northern Italy (Image: Getty Images) The Turkish businessmen aboard the helicopter had worked for Eczacibasi Consumer Products, a subsidiary of the large Turkish industrial group Eczacibasi. The group participated in a paper technology exhibition in Italy, the company said in a statement. The helicopter was reportedly a Koala AW119 built by the Leonardo defense team. The ANSA news agency reported that it belonged to the transport and aeronautical maintenance company Avio Helicopters, based in Thiene, in northern Italy. The cause of the crash has not yet been confirmed. Contact our news team by emailing us at [email protected] For more stories like this, check out our news page.
