PA News
Two Britons were among five people killed when a helicopter crashed off the French Riviera, it was confirmed today.
The couple – a man and a woman – were on board the Heliair Monaco helicopter which went down in the sea a mile off the coast of Saint Jean Cap Ferrat in southern France yesterday.
All four passengers and the pilot died in the accident which happened just after midday as the helicopter flew from Nice airport to Monaco.
A spokesman for the Monaco Principality said the cause of the accident remained unknown as weather conditions were good.
He said Monaco heliport control was alerted by Nice airport after it lost contact with the single rotor Ecureuil helicopter.
A maritime police spokesman confirmed two of the passengers were a man and a woman from Britain and that the woman’s body had been recovered.
He said the other four – a French pilot, the British man and two other foreigners – were still missing. It is believed the other passengers on board were from Indonesia and Germany.
A British Embassy spokesman in Paris said the body of one woman had been recovered so far from the helicopter.
He said: “One female body has been recovered and I presume that they will be able to make a positive identification from that, but the process continues today.
The helicopter is in 300 metres of water – it is not an easy task.”