RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – At least five Peruvian military personnel died, two are missing, and five others were injured after an Army helicopter crashed in a jungle river in the Cusco region of southern Peru, official sources reported this Saturday (17.04.2021).
The Joint Command of the Armed Forces reported that the accident occurred at 09:15 hours this Saturday “during the execution of a reconnaissance operation against illicit drug trafficking”. The Peruvian Army helicopter was carrying twelve members of the Armed Forces when it suffered a mechanical failure and plunged into the waters of the Vilcanota River in Cusco.
The accident caused the death of Army NCOs John Salazar Periche, Javier Paredes Soncco and Santiago Huaita Estrada, as well as Navy NCOs Yhoni Carlos Solano and Víctor Carpopata Macedo. In addition, Captain Fabrizzio Soto Charres and Warrant Officer Marco Guerra Saavedra were reported missing.
The source indicated that Army Major Erick Huamán Choque, Captain Augusto Reyes Olguín and NCOs Abel Chávez Manhualaya, Diego Marín Hidalgo and César Robles Inga were rescued with minor injuries.
The Joint Command deeply regretted “the death of these brave members of the Armed Forces” and expressed “its most heartfelt condolences to their families.” It also assured that “actions have been intensified in the area to rescue all the personnel, as well as to provide the necessary medical assistance to the wounded.”