Five People Dead As Romania Chopper Crashes

A helicopter crash in eastern Romania near the Black Sea on Wednesday left five soldiers dead while searching for a missing fighter jet and its pilot.

The spokesman of the Ministry of National Defence, Gen Constantin Spanu, while speaking said, “Unfortunately, all five members of the IAR 330 crew lost their lives. Search and rescue operations for the pilot of the MiG 21 LanceR are still ongoing.”

It was gathered that the IAR 330-Puma helicopter crashed in the area of Gura Dobrogei, 11 kilometres (seven miles) from the airfield.

The military officers died while searching for a fighter jet that lost its radio connection with the control tower and disappeared from the radar.

Spanu noted that the pilot before the crash complained about adverse weather conditions and had been ordered to return to base.

The spokesman added there major focus is on the search and rescue mission of the missing fighter jet and its pilot.

He further stated, “It is premature to discuss possible causes. Certainly, there were unfavourable weather conditions, but we can’t comment now.

“We have two commissions of inquiry set up. Our focus is on the search-and-rescue operation.”