Helicopter Crash During Firefighting Mission: Pilot Rescued, Five GNR Soldiers Missing

The helicopter pilot, approximately 40 years old, was rescued by boat and is being transported to the hospital in Vila Real. He has some fractures and is in a state of hypothermia, but, apparently, his life is not in danger. The accident forced the helicopter to make an emergency landing, according to Civil Protection. The helicopter involved in the accident, a model AS350 – Écureuil, is operated by the company HTA Helicópteros, based in Loulé, Algarve.

The aircraft may have collided with a high voltage line, which caused the crash.

The authorities are continuing the search to try to find the other members who were on board. The aircraft was returning from the fire in Baião, and the search continues for the five missing GNR military personnel. The causes of the accident are still unknown.

“Ai ainda não há a informação de que os cinco elementos da GNR, que pertencem à companhia de Armamar, tenham sido resgatados com vida”, emphasized to RTP the spokesperson for the GNR, Lieutenant Colonel Mafalda Gomes de Almeida.

The search involves the support of firefighters, divers, and recreational boats that were in the area.

According to civil protection, there are 114 operational personnel on site, supported by 39 vehicles, five boats, and one aircraft.

The GNR informed RTP that, “around 12:50 PM, information was reported of the fall of a firefighting helicopter in the Douro River, near the locality of Samodães, Lamego, which was carrying six passengers, namely, a pilot and a team of five military personnel from the Emergency Protection and Rescue Unit returning from combating a fire in the Baião municipality.”

“The causes of the accident are still unknown, and the pilot was rescued alive, with only minor injuries. The search continues in the river for the five members of the UEPS, who are still missing, with maritime means from the maritime police, firefighters, divers, recreational boats, and GNR military personnel.”

The National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection added that “rescue means were immediately sent to the site. The pilot was rescued alive and is being evaluated by a medical team. Currently, the search is ongoing to locate the five members of the GNR’s UEPS team.”

“It is confirmed that an aircraft from the firefighting apparatus, which is based at the CMA (Center for Aerial Means) in Armamar, has crashed, but we do not yet have confirmation of whether there are victims and how many there may be,” said a source from the Douro Sub-regional Command.

According to the Douro Sub-regional Command, the alert was given at 12:36 PM for the fall in the river between Lamego, Viseu district, and Peso da Régua, Vila Real district, near a hotel unit in the Lamego municipality.