Five die in Venezuela helicopter crash

Fri May 24, 2013 6:9AM GMT
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A Venezuelan police helicopter has crashed outside the capital, Caracas, killing all five people aboard the aircraft, police officials say.

The fatal incident happened on Thursday in a forested area east of Caracas when the National Bolivarian Police helicopter was chasing a car in a kidnapping case.

Police on the ground managed to free the two hostages, both of whom were engineers. One of the two suspected kidnappers was also killed in the pursuit.

The cause of the incident is still unknown, but police chief Luis Karabin cited atmospheric conditions.

He added that the pilot, co-pilot, a technician and two police officers lost their lives in the crash.

The chopper had been on a surveillance mission, before joining the chase. The mission was part of a new anti-crime initiative launched by President Nicolas Maduro.

“I feel great pain for the loss of our officers of the National Bolivarian Police as they were patrolling our safe homeland,” the Venezuelan president stated in a message posted on Twitter.

Kidnapping for ransom is widespread in Venezuela. According to the Venezuelan Violence Observatory organization, over a thousand abductions take place annually in the country.