Representative image showing a chopper.
credit: iStock Photo
Lisbon: At least two people died and three were missing after a helicopter returning from a firefighting mission crashed into the River Douro in northern Portugal on Friday, authorities said on Friday.
The pilot was rescued alive by a tourism boat near the scene and was taken to a hospital with leg fractures.
Aside from the pilot, the helicopter was carrying a team of five specialists from the Emergency Protection and Relief Unit when it crashed in the Lamego area.
"Two bodies were found inside the aircraft and three are missing," Rui Silva Lampreia, commander of the Douro Harbour Authority, told reporters. "We're doing underwater searches around the helicopter and on the banks."
The cause of the accident was yet to be established.
Prime Minister Luis Montenegro travelled to the scene of the crash where dozens of first responders, maritime police, divers, and two Air Force helicopters were working.