“The helicopter, which had been missing since Thursday, June 9, had taken off from Lucca airport with seven people on board and was found today, on Mount Cusna, completely destroyed,” the Italian National Aviation Safety Agency said in a press release. The remains were found in Monte Cusna, in the Apennines in the northern part of Emilia-Romagna, a few kilometers from Tuscany. After 15:00 local time (9 a.m. ET), CNSAS wrote on Twitter that unfortunately no survivors were found. The victims are the pilot from the Veneto area and six passengers, four of Turkish and two of Lebanese nationality, who were on a business trip to Italy. The official confirmation was given by the prefecture of Modena, the subsidiary of SkyTg24 of CNN reported on Saturday. The helicopter appeared to have crashed into the bed of a stream, the Lama, at Passo degli Scaloni, 1,922 meters above sea level, SkyTg24 reported. Italy’s National Aviation Safety Agency said on Saturday it had launched an investigation and sent an investigator to the scene of the crash of the A119 Koala helicopter, the agency said. The rescue operations were carried out by CNSAS, the Italian Fire Brigade and the Italian Police and Air Force personnel. “We got some coordinates, went to the spot and found everything burned. “The helicopter is in a valley, near a stream, we are trying to bring all the rescue crews to then reach the area on foot, because it is difficult to get there by winch,” said a soldier earlier on Saturday. a video posted on the Italian Air Force’s verified Twitter profile.
