28 February 2024 , 22:20
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A terrifying video has surfaced of the panic inside a tourist helicopter as it lost control and crashed shortly after taking off in Colombia.
The helicopter, which was supposed to be in the air for all of 12 minutes, lost control and fell from the sky. It crashed into the side of a tall building in Medellin on Monday. It was transporting guests to an expensive dinner in the heart of the city. Amazingly, all six people on the Bell 206 chopper survived. One shaken passenger was quickly taken to the hospital and treated for a broken leg and cuts on their body, officials shared, but most escaped unscathed.
The new footage shows the chaos inside the cabin as the helicopter spun in the air before falling towards the ground. Francisco Salas, a 36-year-old vacationer from Texas, can be heard in the video calling for help in both Spanish and English.
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The helicopter crashed on takeoff, with videos showing it spin out (Jam Press Vid)
The occupants of the chopper were understandably terrified, but everyone survived (Jam Press Vid)The helicopter ride was part of a dining experience offered by Hangar, a restaurant with an airplane theme located in the Manrique neighborhood of Medellin, where customers pay about $73 for a short 12 to 15-minute flight from Olaya Herrera Airport to the restaurant, where they were supposed to be welcomed with a cocktail.
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Instead, the helicopter began going down a few minutes into the ride. Many of the individuals in the video look shocked as they called their families to tell them they love them.
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The disturbing video shows people making calls and videos out to their loved ones (Jam Press Vid)
The occupants included some Colombians and a few tourists (Jam Press Vid)In the shocking video, rider Salas describes the panicked scene, saying: "I've been in a helicopter crash. We are very high up and waiting for the police and rescue team."
After the crash, Francisco shared: "I had a woman next to me with a lot of body weight who did not have the strength to support herself so I put my arm around her."
"I used one arm to support myself against the helicopter while using the other to support the woman for around 45 minutes. ' Salas, who was with his girlfriend Luisa Osorio on the flight, went on to talk about how he thought he was going to die." He called his parents back home in Texas during the ordeal.
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The video from inside the cabin showed the occupants turned over on their heads (Jam Press Vid)
Rescue workers rushed to the scene and managed to get everyone out safely (Jam Press Vid)One of the tourists aboard said: "I had my phone with me, I made a video call to my mom and dad. I even said goodbye to my brother, it was a very serious moment. I just wanted to say goodbye, say thank you to everyone."
The businessman from Texas was one of six people on board the tourist chopper at the time of the crash. Alongside him were two women from Costa Rica named Sandy Villalobos Marin, 34, and Karen Rivera Picada, 36, and Colombian nationals Luisa Fernanda Osorio and Jaime Andres Echeverri.
Echeverri, the co-pilot, broke his leg. The pilot was Brian Michel Alvarez, 32. Another video, shot by someone on the ground, showed the helicopter as it spun out of control, going side to side, before it crashed into a wall.
Over 70 emergency workers rushed to the scene and helped recover the travelers following the horrific crash. Luisa Osorio, the girlfriend of Salas, told Columbian newspaper Noticias Caracol that they joined the flight to record content for social media networks.
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A panicked woman called her parents as the chopper went down (Jam Press Vid)
Over 70 rescuers arrived to the scene of the chopper crash (Jam Press Vid)They both did not think they were going to survive the crash. Osorio said: "We got on. Literally when it was elevating it couldn't do it completely. It started to spin, to spin very quickly and we said, 'We are going to die here.'"
Osorio remembered being told by the rescuers "not to move, absolutely don't do anything, don't even breathe" as they worked on pulling them out. The aircraft fell and crashed into the side of a building, where it got stuck between the structure and an antenna.
Another video showed the pilot climbing out of the helicopter and holding onto a ladder attached to the antenna. Locals rushed to the scene and helped the occupants to safety.
The Medellin Fire Department used several cranes to remove the helicopter from the site early Tuesday morning. All helicopter flights have been stopped while authorities launched an investigation into the cause.