French Helicopter Crash In Antarctic: Four Feared Lost …

• October 30th, 2010
• Posted by EUEditor

Wreckage of the helicopter reported missing late on Thursday has been found 100 kilometres from France’s Dumont d’Urville  base, with no signs that any of the four men on board have survived.An Australian search aircraft reported that three bodies were visible, after tracing a distress beacon from the helicopter – downed on the ice, in bad weather during a long flight.

The French administration with responsibility in the Antarctic, TAAF, said the Squirrel A310 helicopter was used for making transfers to the base from the ship Asrolabe, located some 480 kilometres from the crash site.

A second helicopter there could not get to the site because of the weather, with very low cloud and poor visibility.

Those on board were two crew members and two members of the team at Dumont d’Urville

See EUAustralia Online, “Rescue Moves For French Helicopter in Antarctica”, 30.10.10.

Pictures

Terre Adelie – the Adelie sector where the crash occurred; Squirrel A310; Search map; Astrolabe, one of two French Antarctic and Southern territories vessels. TAAF

Reference

Australian Maritime safety Authority (AMSA), Canberra, “AMSA coordinating search for helicopter in Antarctica”. 29.10.10. http://www.amsa.gov.au/, (30.10.10).

Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises (TAAF), RF, Accident d’hélicoptère en terre Adélie,  (French Southern and Antarctic authority; helicopter crash in Adelie land), 30.10.10. http://www.taaf.fr/spip/spip.php?article504, (30.10.10).

The West Australian, Perth, AFP; “Bodies spotted in Antarctica helicopter crash”, 30.10.10. http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/world/8227471/bodies-spotted-in-antarctica-helicopter-crash/, (30.10.10).

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