An Israeli military transport helicopter carrying seven soldiers crashed in a mountainous area of central Romania during a joint exercise today, Romania's Defence Ministry said.
Private television channel Realitatea TV said mountain rescue teams had found four bodies but did not provide any details on their identity, adding that a search for the remaining three people was under way.
The ministry said the CH-53 helicopter, carrying six Israeli soldiers and one Romanian, lost radio contact with the Blue Sky 2010 exercise’s control centre at midday today.
The crash occurred in the Carpathian mountains in the county of Brasov, about 150 km north of Bucharest.
“Immediately, we began the search-rescue operation aided by a (Romanian) Defence Ministry Medevac helicopter and two other Israeli helicopters,” the ministry said in a statement.
The exercise, due to run from July 18th to July 29th, aimed to provide training on rescue and medical evacuation procedures.
Reuters