(Adnkronos) – A soldier has died and others were injured following the crash of a military helicopter in the Czech Republic, according to reports from the army and emergency services. “A Venom helicopter crashed at the 22nd Helicopter Base in Namest nad Oslavou. There were five soldiers on board. Emergency services are currently deployed at the scene,” the army stated via social media, while Petr Janacek, spokesperson for the Vysocina regional rescue services, told AFP that one of the passengers was found dead and three were transported to hospitals in the region, two of whom with “moderately severe injuries,” adding that the rescue operation was still ongoing.
The Namest nad Oslavou airbase is located approximately 200 kilometers southeast of Prague. Police were informed of the incident at 12:11 PM local time, as stated by Dana Cirtkova, spokesperson for the regional police, to the Ctk news agency. Defense Minister Jaromir Zuna declared that the incident is “an immense tragedy that deeply affects us all,” adding that an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the crash.
