Helicopter crashes in Peru, killing all seven aboard

LIMA (Reuters) – A helicopter carrying seven people crashed in Peru’s Amazon jungle yesterday and all aboard perished, a judicial official said.

Corpac, Peru’s air transport agency, said the helicopter was operated by the local unit of US-based Columbia Helicopters. Columbia is known for its tandem rotor heavy-lift aircraft used in logging and oil exploration work. Columbia’s Lima office declined to comment
Marco Ochoa, the judicial official, said five US citizens and two Peruvians were on the helicopter and that rescue crews were recovering their bodies.

Local media reports said the people on board worked for Petrominerales Ltd, a Canadian-based oil exploration firm focused on Latin America. Petrominerales‘ Lima office declined to comment.