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Norfolk helicopter crash: four reported dead Norfolk helicopter crash: four people killed
(about 1 hour later)
Four people have been killed in a helicopter crash in Norfolk, emergency services have said.Four people have been killed in a helicopter crash in Norfolk, emergency services have said.
Police were first called to the incident at the village of Gillingham, near Beccles and Lowestoft, at about 7.30pm on Thursday night. A few hours later, the East of England Ambulance Service (EEAST) said it believed that all the occupants had died. Police were first called to the incident at the village of Gillingham, near Beccles, at about 7.30pm on Thursday night. A few hours later, the East of England Ambulance Service (EEAST) said it believed that all the occupants had died.
Police confirmed that the aircraft was civilian rather than military, and that the area of the crash site has been cordoned off.Police confirmed that the aircraft was civilian rather than military, and that the area of the crash site has been cordoned off.
A spokesman for EEAST said: "Sadly, it is believed that four people in the helicopter are believed to have died in the crash. Ambulance resources have now been stood down from the scene. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of those who have lost their lives tonight." A police spokesman confirmed that all four occupants of the aircraft were killed. And an EEAST spokesman said: "Ambulance resources have now been stood down from the scene. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of those who have lost their lives tonight.
"EEAST sent a number of resources to the incident including two ambulance officers, three ambulances, two doctors and one rapid response car.""EEAST sent a number of resources to the incident including two ambulance officers, three ambulances, two doctors and one rapid response car."
One Twitter user said that the helicopter came down near his house, which he wrote was near the woodland leading to the small village of Gillingham.One Twitter user said that the helicopter came down near his house, which he wrote was near the woodland leading to the small village of Gillingham.
Roland Bronk, owner of The Swan House inn and restaurant in Beccles, said it was "very foggy" in the area. Bronk said he also heard customers talk about "a lot of police activity and ambulances".Roland Bronk, owner of The Swan House inn and restaurant in Beccles, said it was "very foggy" in the area. Bronk said he also heard customers talk about "a lot of police activity and ambulances".
It is not yet known whether fog, which beset much of England earlier in the day, played a factor in the crash, although the visibility was reported to be poor in the area on Thursday night.It is not yet known whether fog, which beset much of England earlier in the day, played a factor in the crash, although the visibility was reported to be poor in the area on Thursday night.
The site is 45 miles from the spot where four crew members died when a US military helicopter crashed in January on a training mission in a nature reserve in Cley-next-the-Sea.The site is 45 miles from the spot where four crew members died when a US military helicopter crashed in January on a training mission in a nature reserve in Cley-next-the-Sea.
All four American crew members were killed in the crash. Residents described hearing a "heavy and very unusual" noise from the helicopter seconds before the crash. There has been a series of disasters involving helicopters recently. In January this year, a Pave Hawk from RAF Lakenheath was taking part in a low-flying training exercise when it came down in a nature reserve in Cley-next-the-Sea in Norfolk.
The aircraft was carrying munitions at the time of the crash and police subsequently cordoned off the area as they investigated the nature of the weaponry, which was later found to be bullets. In November 2013, 10 people were killed when a helicopter crashed into a pub in Glasgow. All three members of crew died and a further seven people who were in the pub at the time of the incident were also killed.
In August the same year, four people died after a SuperPuma helicopter ditched in the sea off Shetland. It was later revealed that three of them - Sarah Darnley, Duncan Munro, and George Allison - died from drowning after the "survivable" crash. Gary McCrossan, 59, from Inverness, suffered heart failure.