Eight people killed in Ecuadorian army helicopter crash during an aid mission in the Amazon

Eight crew members, including three civilians, who were traveling in a helicopter Ecuadorian Army He died this Friday when a plane crashed in an area. Amazon, As stated in a statement from the military institute.

The dead also include officials of Risk Management Secretariat (SGR) The Government of Ecuador did humanitarian aid For areas of the Amazonian province PastaAffected by floods due to rising rivers.

The victims were identified as the oldest Andrew Sierra, who piloted the aircraft; Lieutenant Jaime Cordones, who served as co-pilot; sergeant Leonardo GutierrezWho held the job of flight engineer and corporal Christian Morales And edgar montesdeokaWho was a mechanic.

Apart from the crew, they were also traveling in the helicopter Katya Aragon, Diego Ima and Eric Reyes To carry out the activities of SGR.

In its statement, the Ecuadorian military specified that Rescue of dead bodies will take place this Saturday Due to the weather conditions that occurred this Friday.

chairman Daniel Noboa He regretted the incident and expressed in his account on the social network

Earlier, the Risk Management Secretariat had published on the same social network images of a helicopter during the delivery of supplies, the model and registration of which match those described by the army.

Noted in the portfolio: “In the Mi 171 aircraft (…) we delivered humanitarian aid to 159 families affected by the overflowing of the Bobonaza River in the Pacayacu community.,

In other photos you can see soldiers and residents unloading aid boxes.

helicopter, a Mi-171E Registration AAE-485An accident occurred at 9:36 pm local time in the sector twinoin the province of Pastaza, and his remains were not found until approximately five hours later.

Andre Granda, the prefect of the said province, said that one of the technicians from the prefecture was on the helicopter with a local authority of the community.

The helicopter followed the route Shell-Tivino-Tabboro And a search operation was launched for its location in which two light helicopters participated.

The Ecuadorian military ordered the immediate formation of an accident investigation board to determine the cause of the accident.

“We the soldiers stand in solidarity with the families of our five brave soldiers, who served their country with complete dedication and professionalism despite the risks involved in the military profession, and with three exemplary Ecuadorian citizens,” the military institute said. Provide necessary assistance.

(With information from EFE and AFP)