Crash victim's body recovered
04/09/2005 11:11
Johannesburg - Police divers on Sunday recovered the body of a flight engineer who had been aboard a helicopter that plunged into the sea at the Richard's Bay harbour entrance on Saturday.
Harvey Moir, NSRI Richards Bay Station Commander, said the body was recovered from the fuselage of the National Ports Authority Augusta 119 helicopter.
"A decision will be taken later on the recovery of the helicopter fuselage."
The accident occurred while the helicopter was lifting a marine pilot, Ashwani Pathak, from a vessel.
"The helicopter blades allegedly made contact with the vessel, Aloha Afovos, during this process, causing the helicopter pilot to lose control. The chopper then nose-dived into the sea."
Pathak was still being winched up when the incident occurred.
Helicopter pilot John Basson and Pathak were rescued by divers who were repairing pipelines at the time.
Basson sustained minor injuries to his face and back and was in a stable condition, while Pathak sustained serious head, spine and internal injuries and was in a critical condition in a local hospital.
News24/SAPA
