TRAGIC FINAL FLIGHT: British Couple Ki-ll-ed on Honeymoon Trip After Helicopter Crashes Near Greek Island Heliport
A British couple on their honeymoon were among three killed in a fiery helicopter crash on a Greek island last night.
The private air taxi reportedly suffered a mechanical failure moments before landing and smashed into the ground near a heliport in Sifnos, killing the pilot and two passengers.
Police have named the tragic Brits onboard as Alexander Cromie and Marie Ebert, and the pilot as Giorgos Raikos.
The pair, believed to have been in their early 30s and living in London, were thought to be on their honeymoon at the time of the smash. The pilot is said to have been a retired Greek Air Force officer.
He had extensive flying experience and had piloted military Chinook helicopters, according to local reports. It is also understood that he was married and the father of three children.
It was reported that the couple had hired a private air taxi from Athens to Sifnos to start their honeymoon. Tragically, the helicopter crashed to the ground as it approached a helipad at around 6pm local time.
Images broadcast on local media show the crash site on an arid hillside, as a dark column of smoke engulfs the area.
+4
View gallery
A newlywed British couple on their honeymoon have died in a fireball helicopter crash on a Greek island
+4
View gallery
The aircraft smashed into the ground near a heliport around 6pm on Monday
+4
View gallery
It was reported that the couple had hired a private air taxi company on their honeymoon trip
CCTV footage from nearby showed a helicopter spinning uncontrollably as it quickly lost altitude, before smashing into the ground. Parts of the aircraft can be seen flying in the air following its impact.
It was initially reported by local media that the helicopter had crashed seconds after taking off – but this was later corrected.
Manolis Fountoulakis, deputy mayor of Sifnos, told Greek news site NewsIT: ‘There was nothing left, a shapeless mass, inside which the two charred bodies must have been.
‘It experienced mechanical failure in the air, residents say it made a loud, strange noise, like military aircraft.’
He added that two bodies were discovered inside the crash site while another had been found a few yards away.
Proto Thema reported emergency services were first alerted to the incident at around 6.17pm local time on Monday.
Two firefighters and one fire engine raced to the site to tackle the raging flames, according to local newspapers.
A rescue team also arrived on a high-speed boat operated by the Fire Brigade to attend the scene.
The Foreign Office said it was in contact with local authorities and was seeking further information.
+4
View gallery
The crash on the Greek island of Sifnos happened at around 6.15pm local time on Monday
It added that it stood ready to provide consular support to those affected.
The Greek fire service said that the crash triggered an alarm heard across the island in the Cyclades, which is popular with tourists over the summer months.
The island’s mayor, Maria Nadali, told local media: ‘This is a shocking event. We are shocked and are trying to manage, together with the right services, the consequences of this incident next to the helipad.’
A witness told local media that the helicopter, said to be a Canadian Bell 206, began to spin around at high speed before it plunged to the ground.
Local reports suggest that the pilot had only been hired by the company two months ago.
No homes were hit and no other casualties were sustained, it is understood.
The National Organisation for the Investigation of Air and Railway Accidents and Transport Safety has begun investigating the crash, according to the Greek Ministry of Transport.
Sifnos is a Greek island in the Cyclades island group. It is known for its sandy beaches and the striking white Chrysopigi Monastery.
It comes after a Greek and a Dane were killed in a mid-air helicopter crash earlier this month while fighting wildfires in Greece earlier this month.
Emergency services rushed to the scene after the aircraft collided in the Psatha region of Attica, 42 miles west of Athens.
One of the pilots of the downed helicopters, a British man, ‘miraculously’ survived the crash.
Andrew Hutchinson, 48, was battling wildfires onboard the helicopter in Greece when it collided with the rotors of another aircraft.
Mr Hutchinson told his family that he and the Greek fire co-ordinator with him managed to escape the aircraft before it exploded after crashing to the ground without power.
