Two dead in MTV helicopter crash in Argentina

PHOTO: Inquirer.net

At least two people were killed when a helicopter being used by film crew with the US television channel MTV crashed into a reservoir in western Argentina, officials said Saturday.

The security minister for Mendoza province, Gianni Venier, said the helicopter crashed about 30 kilometers from the city of Mendoza, the provincial capital — some 1,000 miles (620 kilometers) west of Buenos Aires.

Wreckage from the aircraft has been found, and a pilot and a technician aboard the helicopter were reported killed when the craft plunged into the reservoir at Potrerillos de Mendoza dam.

It was unclear whether other people were aboard the helicopter at the time of the accident.

Rescuers trying to reach the downed helicopter said it had plunged some 60 meters (about 200 feet) underwater.

The crash is the second this year involving a helicopter taking part in filming in Argentina.

In March, 10 people, eight French nationals and two Argentines, were killed during the filming of a show for reality TV in France.

The dead included three well-known French athletes — pioneering sailor Florence Arthaud and Olympian swimmer Camille Muffat and boxer Alexis Vastine.