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Two planes carrying parachutists collide over Slovakia Two planes carrying parachutists collide over Slovakia
(about 4 hours later)
Two planes carrying dozens of parachutists have collided in mid-air over western Slovakia, killing seven people. Two planes carrying dozens of parachutists have collided midair over western Slovakia, killing seven people. Thirty-one others on board survived by jumping out with their parachutes.
Slovak media reported 15 other parachutists missing. An aviation official said some reportedly survived by jumping out with their parachutes. The crash took place on Thursday morning near the village of Červený Kameň. Rescue workers have been using helicopters to reach the crash site, in the White Carpathians mountain range, that forms the border with the Czech Republic.
The accident took place on Thursday morning near the village of Červený Kameň.
Rescue workers have been using helicopters to reach the crash site, in the White Carpathians mountain range that forms the border with the Czech Republic.
The government agency that investigates plane crashes said, according to preliminary information, about 40 people – mostly parachutists – were on board the L-410 planes at the time of the collision, which occurred at an altitude of 1,500 metres (4,921 ft).The government agency that investigates plane crashes said, according to preliminary information, about 40 people – mostly parachutists – were on board the L-410 planes at the time of the collision, which occurred at an altitude of 1,500 metres (4,921 ft).
The official said some of the parachutists on one of the aircraft survived because they managed to jump out before the collision. He did not give a specific number of survivors. The Health Ministry said 38 people were on board the two planes and 31 survived. Five people needed some medical treatment but nobody was hospitalised.
The TA3 news television said 15 of the parachutists were still missing. It said all the parachutists were training for this weekend’s air show in nearby Slavnica. Some on board jumped out even after the planes collided, according to the interior minister, Robert Kaliňák.
Slovak health minister Viliam Čislák and interior minister Robert Kaliňák were heading to the crash site. “The 31 parachutists managed to jump out from the falling planes and survived,” Kalinak told the TA3 news television station as he visited the crash site. “They all landed safely. It’s a small miracle.”
The dead included the two crew members from both planes and three parachutists, Juraj Gyenes, another official at the aviation investigations agency, told TA3.
TA3 reported the parachutists were training for this weekend’s air show in nearby Slavnica.
“All of a sudden, I heard a big blow,” one witness told TASR, the Slovak news agency, in a news video. “Then it roared. I thought some pieces were falling, but it could be the parachutists.”
The Slovak health minister, Viliam Čislák, and Kaliňák visited the crash site.