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"Luckily they landed safely and no one was injured," said Working on Fire co-ordinator Val Charlton.
The helicopter would be repaired after an investigation

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Sabie - The crew of a Russian MI-8 helicopter escaped with their lives after crashing into a dam near Sabie on Sunday afternoon.

The helicopter was part of a team of aircraft fighting a fire in the forests near Spitskop, about 15km outside Sabie. They had been contracted by Working on Fire (WOF).

"We had just filled the Bambi bucket with water from the dam when the helicopter suddenly lost power," said the pilot, Louis Venter from Nelspruit.

They released the bucket in order to stabilise the helicopter, which belongs to the Russian company UT Air.

Lost altitude

However, the helicopter lost altitude, hit the water and turned onto its right side. It immediately started sinking.

Venter and his crew, co-pilot Johan Pretorius and onboard technician Vielies Vlieland, clambered out the window on the pilot's side.

"It's pretty difficult to tread water wearing boots," said Venter. They swam towards the shore, where onlookers helped them from the water.

The dam is situated about 10km outside Nelspruit along the road to White River.

As the helicopter hit the water, the eight-blade main rotor was broken into pieces, which were flung in all directions, said Elsa Lategan, who witnessed the accident.

Lizette Heine from WOF said it seemed as if the rear rotor of the MI-8 had broken. "We are just incredibly thankful that the crew is safe," she added.

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