All seven persons aboard a flight have been reported dead as a Serbian military helicopter conveying a sick baby for treatment crashed near Belgrade officials confirm on Saturday, Mach 14, 2015.
The crashed chopper was dispatched to the southern region of Raska after an ambulance transporting the ailing baby to an emergency hospital in Belgrade got stuck by a landslide which obstructed the road.
Officials of the defense ministry said no one survived the crash which occurred in the late late hours of Friday, March 13, 2015 near Belgrade’s international airport, some 30 kilometers (18 miles) west of the capital.
According to ABC News, the Russian-made MI-17 transport helicopter had four crew members, two medical workers and the 5-day-old baby with life-threatening respiratory problems.
The crash occurred in foggy weather, which had caused several commercial flights to be rerouted to other destinations.
According to the military, no contact could be established with the aircraft as at 10:31 pm of the fateful day after it apparently tried to make an emergency landing while running out of fuel near the airport.
Floodlights at two of Belgrade’s biggest soccer stadiums were lit to help the pilots to see where to land.
While expressing his shock, Serbia’s Defense Minister, Bratislav Gasic said the helicopter was the only one in the army with advanced medevac equipment, adding that the deceased pilots were the best in the army.
Meanwhile, the Serbian Prime Minister, Aleksandar Vucic has ordered a day of mourning for the deceased while he consoled their relatives for the great loss.
