Five Killed in Sewol Search Helicopter Crash

A search helicopter carrying emergency workers flying from the Sewol ferry disaster site crashed in a South Korean city of Gwangju, leaving five dead and one injured.

The helicopter was carrying fire-fighters who were returning to their base after spending past four days trying to find the remaining Sewol passengers, when it crashed into a street near an apartment complex, according to BBC.

All five passengers on-board the helicopter died, while a passing school student was injured by shrapnel.

Yonhap reports that witnesses of Thursday’s accident said that they saw the helicopter catch fire before nose-diving into the street.

The crash comes almost three months after South Korea’s biggest maritime disaster, the sinking of the Sewol ferry.

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World maritime News Staff, July 17th, 2014