The helicopter which went missing on Thursday has been found. It had crashed on Mount Cusna. There were no survivors.
The prefecture of Modena, which coordinated the research together with the Air Force, announced the missing helicopter has been found. Rescuers found all seven passengers of the helicopter lifeless at the crash site. On board had been the pilot from Veneto and six entrepreneurs, four of Turkish nationality and two of Lebanese nationality.
The area of the discovery was immediately seized by the judicial authority of Reggio Emilia which will open an investigation.
Meanwhile, the cause of the accident is a mystery. One theory is bad weather played a part, but the investigations will look into all possibilities. The aircraft departed from Capannori Tassignano (Lucca) airport on Thursday morning and was headed for the Treviso area, when it went missing.
The diplomatic delegations of both Turkey and Lebanon have been informed.
Hard to reach site
After the discovery of the aircraft on Mount Cusna, several teams, transported by rescue helicopters, reached the place. It is an impervious gully between the Battisti refuge and the locality of Segheria, in the Apennines on the border between the provinces of Reggio Emilia and Modena. Close to Passo degli Scaloni, 1,922 meters above sea level, it is two kilometres from the Segheria refuge.
The victims have been named as: Corrado Levorin , a 33-year-old pilot from Polverara, in the Padua area. He was flying the Augusta AW 119 Koala. A fellow professional described him as an expert, and by those who knew him well, particularly attentive to the safety factor in flight. The six passengers with him were all entrepreneurs. Two were of Lebanese nationality, Chadi Kreidy and Tarek El Tayak. Four were of Turkish nationality: Serhat Kenar, Arif Cef, Ilker Ucak and Altug Erbil.
The latter were all executives and senior officials of companies of the Eczacibasi holding, which was also involved in a similar incident a few years ago. In 2017, eight people including passengers, all Eczacibasi managers, and pilots, died on a helicopter that crashed in Istanbul due to fog.
