Crash of a Spanish helicopter off the Canary Islands (maj5)
(B2) A Spanish Air Force AS332 Super Puma helicopter with 3 soldiers crashed at sea on Thursday (October 22), in the afternoon (14 p.m. Zulu, 16 p.m. local time), between the mainland African and the Canary Islands. He took off from the Nouadhibou base in Mauritania around 13:13 p.m. (Zulu time) after participating in a training and rescue mission in Dakar with the Senegalese Armed Forces for two weeks (read: The BPC Mistral on patrol with the Centinela in the Gulf of Guinea). And he was supposed to arrive in Gando at 16:45 p.m. It would have suffered damage about 280 nautical miles from Gando and 40 nautical miles southwest of Dakhla (in Western Sahara / Morocco). Three soldiers were on board: a captain, a lieutenant and a sergeant of the Air Force says the Spanish Ministry of Defence. The helicopter belongs to the 802nd squadron of the air force and was dedicated to rescue and relief at sea.
Confusion over the fate of the three men
In the last few hours, the confusion was great. Quite quickly, a helicopter from the Moroccan forces dispatched to the scene announced that it had spotted the shipwrecked helicopter, on the surface of the water. The Spanish defense then indicated " that a raft was visible (near the helicopter) with lit flares nearby "but without power" confirm the presence of the three soldiers on board the raft " (read here). The Spanish defense even announced, on the basis of Moroccan information said to be in Madrid, that the three men had been picked up by a fishing boat. The information turned out to be false, at least unverified. Finally, Defense Minister Pedro Morenés had to admit on Friday evening that the three soldiers on board the helicopter were " still missing ". This caused diplomatic confusion between Madrid and Rabat.
Important means of research
The research, halted for a moment, therefore resumed. Several Spanish and Moroccan boats and aircraft are taking part in the search. Spain mobilized two Super Puma helicopters, a CN235 maritime surveillance aircraft, as well as two ships, the Camino Español and Olympian Zeus, a Norwegian hydrological vessel chartered by the Spanish Navy, which has technological means of tracking the seabed. And F-18s are held in reserve. Two teams of specialized divers from the Naval Command of the Canary Islands, one part from Dakhla and the other aboard the The Unity Way, were also dispatched to the scene. The Spanish Minister of Defense, Pedro Morenés, arrived on Saturday in the Canary Islands to coordinate the device.
Bad sea conditions
(Updated 25.10) The Camino Espanol has arrived on site. Corn " poor sea conditions in the area could hamper the work according to the military sources quoted by Cadena Ser. The helicopter, once hooked by a Dutch ship, sank about 40 meters deep. And the search operation is focused on access to the helicopter cabin.
(Updated 26.10) The hypothesis of an abduction mentioned
Defense Minister Pedro Morenés did not want to exclude any option on Sunday. The hypothesis of the abduction of the soldiers after their accident not far from Western Sahara is now officially mentioned. The relatives of the disappeared who arrived in the Canary Islands publicly evoke this hypothesis after the interview with the Minister (read the story in El Pais). A hypothesis evoked more like a breath of hope. Research inside the carcass of the helicopter, sunk, have indeed, for the moment, given nothing. The controversy swells in Spain. The president of the Unified Association of Spanish Military, Jorge Bravo, criticizing in particular the " nefarious management of this crisis by the Ministry of Defense as in previous crises. " Of the accidents that have occurred in recent years, very little is known » he underlines. " We don't know yet what happened." in the accident in March 2014 where four people died.
Two minesweepers on site
(Updated 29.10 morning) Two minesweepers turia et Segura joined the search engine. The cabin of the helicopter has been located, confirmed the investigating magistrate of Las Palmas who requested the lifting of defense secrecy. But six days after the disappearance it was still not possible to confirm whether the remains of the soldiers were indeed in the cabin, indicates the Ministry of Defense in a communicated. Difficult weather conditions such as the possible presence of sharks complicate the search, according to the Spanish press.
The localized bodies
(Updated 29.10 evening) The Minister of Defense Pedro Morenés, announced Thursday evening to the families that divers had inspected the cabin located 40 meters deep and that the three bodies of the soldiers were inside. They have therefore never used a raft or been recovered by a fishing boat, and even less have they been kidnapped, as mentioned for a moment.
(NGV)
