Hautes-Pyrénées: four dead in the crash of a police helicopter – Le Figaro

A gendarme helicopter based at Tarbes crashed Friday near the spa resort of Cauterets, in the Hautes-Pyrenees. The four policemen present in the unit died.

A helicopter of the gendarmerie crashed Friday in the Hautes-Pyrénées, in the Vignemale massif. The four policemen present in the device – the pilot and co-pilot from the Air Detachment of the gendarmerie of Tarbes and two rescuers High Mountain Gendarmerie Platoon (PGHM) Pierrefitte-Nestalas – died. The accident occurred during a mission near altitude of Cauterets, a spa located a few kilometers from the Spanish border.

The helicopter, an EC 145, which took off Friday morning from Laloubere Airport for a training exercise in mountain rescue, would have struck a rock wall, for a reason unknown before crashing. Asked by France 3 Sud , General Bernard Clouzot, commanding the gendarmerie area was quickly explained that because “the place where the crash occurred, it was unlikely that there be survivors. ” A crisis unit was opened by the Hautes-Pyrénées prefecture. Two helicopters of civil security and gendarmerie Pamiers (Ariege) were dispatched to locate the wreckage and the bodies of victims.

“For now, I have not decided to open a criminal investigation,” said the prosecutor of Tarbes, Eric Serfass, who went there. “The relief column reached the wreckage of the helicopter,” according to the prefecture of the Hautes-Pyrénées. The crash took place near the corridor Gaube, a deep fault on the north face of Vignemale, 600 meters high and permanently frozen, an area difficult to access.

In a statement, President of the Republic to express his emotion. “I extend my condolences to the families and friends of the victims and demonstrates their full solidarity of the nation in these painful circumstances,” wrote Francois Hollande. In turn, Prime Minister Manuel Valls, the MP Eric Ciotti and President of the Regional Council of Provence, Christian Estrosi, have also shown their support for families on Twitter. The interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, is expected in late afternoon with the Director General of the Gendarmerie, Denis Favier.

The Platoon gendarmerie (PGHM) Pierrefitte-Nestalas, including two policemen died, is the oldest of the Pyrenees and provides aid high-mountain in the department every two weeks alternating with CRS. This PGHM conducted on 237 emergency department in 2015, and 29 in reinforcing the neighboring department of Haute-Garonne. The accident is one of the deadliest in recent years by helicopter, especially in a device of mountain rescue and civil security.