Peruvian Air Force claims 5 dead as rescuers find missing military helicopter

Peruvian Air Force in a key development stated that a search and rescue squ has located a national military helicopter that went missing on Tuesday in which all five onboard crew members died in tragic crash. As per Xinhua,  five deceased Peruvian Air Force helicopter members were found in Lima area on Wednesday. Peruvian Defense Ministry announced on December 7, Tuesday that Mi-171Sh helicopter h failed to reach its destination and that connections, as well as communication with chopper, were eventually lost.

Following information, a search and rescue mission was initiated, but soon it was halted due to severe wear conditions. As per a statement from Air Force on Wednesday, "On early December 8, a special unit of air force, which was engaged in search operation, found aircraft that h been missing since yesterday ... in Lima region. Unfortunately, five crew members have died," ANI reported.

According to air force, helicopter was taken off at noon on Tuesday from Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima before losing touch and was furr located by armed forces patrols. As per Xinhua, MI-171SH chopper lost touch at San Mateo, some 70 kilometres east of Lima, prompting officials to launch an air and ground investigation later finding crashed military helicopter by Peruvian rescuers.

'y gave ir lives, fulfilling ir duty': President of Peru on military helicopter crash

Furr, President of Peru, Pedro Castillo offered his condolences for soldiers' deaths on Twitter, saying that "I deeply regret death of 5 crew members of @fapperu helicopter in Huarochirí. y gave ir lives, fulfilling ir duty, in favour of those most in need. My condolences to his relatives and colleagues in our heroic Peruvian Air Force."

At time of crash, troops were on an assignment for Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion, as per  ANews website.  air force authorised an emergency inquiry to identify cause of military helicopter crash after continuing search and discovering remains. 

(Image: AP)