Just filched this off reporter.co.za !!
Chopper crashes off Cape Point
Eyewitnesses see craft plunge into water and disappear in seconds
By Lauren Maker-Kotoglu
It was not just another day for Luthando Mase, a baboon monitor at Cape Point Nature Reserve. His job is to make sure that the baboons don't interfere with the thousands of tourists that visit the Cape of Good Hope daily. But on this hot and humid day Luthando witnessed something out of the ordinary. He saw a helicopter crash into the sea.
Managing a guesthouse just a few kilometers away, I heard siren after siren pass by. I quickly called the Two Oceans restaurant to find out what was going on. Everyone was still in shock and explained that a helicopter had crashed right before their eyes. I grabbed my camera and notebook and jumped into the car.
At approximately 10.30am this morning Luthando and his fellow colleagues were chatting and watching two helicopters fly over the sea just about 200 metres off Rooikrans, Cape Point Nature Reserve. Mase explained that they seem to be flying together. One was a Naval Helicopter and the other was a small two-seater helicopter. The smaller chopper suddenly flipped over twice and crashed into the sea. Luthando immediately radioed to the control room and explained what happened.
Another eyewitness Jenny Christie from Wiltshire, UK, said she was about to tuck into her lunch when she saw the chopper flip over and lose control heading cockpit first into the ocean. She watched the cockpit fill up with water in a matter on seconds before the aircraft disappeared below the ocean. She also commented on how quick the rescue team was out and about scanning the area for any survivors.
The police and rescue team had set up a Joint Rescue Centre where they all worked together trying to work out what caused this tragedy. Divers from the South Africa Navy said that while they were preparing to enter the water that they had seen debris floating on the surface.