Italian rescuers say they have located the crash site (Photo: Getty Images / AP)
Seven people died after a helicopter crash in Italy.
The plane disappeared from radar screens on Thursday, causing a huge emergency response.
Rescuers confirmed today that they had found the crash site and found the bodies of seven people.
The helicopter took off from Lucca in Tuscany and headed for the northern city of Treviso.
He was flying through a remote area in bad weather when the connection was lost.
Authorities in Modena, Italy, said today: “Rescuers have found dead seven helicopter passengers, four Turkish and two Lebanese nationals who were on a business trip to Italy.”
The pilot who also died was an Italian.
The wreckage of the helicopter was found in a mountainous area on the border between Tuscany and the Emilia Romagna region.
Alpine Rescue helicopter flies over helicopter crash site near Pivepelago, Italy (Photo: Reuters) Seven bodies found in rescue wreckage (Photo: Reuters)
Prosecutors cordoned off the crash site as part of an investigation into the incident.
In a video posted to the Italian Air Force’s Twitter account, rescuers provided updates on the search.
One of the team members said: “We took the coordinates, went to the place and found everything burned.
“The helicopter is mainly in a valley, near a stream.”
Special fire crews were among the responders sent to the crash site (Photo: Getty Images) The plane disappeared in a wooded mountainous region of northern Italy (Photo: Getty Images)
Turkish businessmen on board the helicopter worked for Eczacibasi Consumer Products, a subsidiary of the large Turkish industrial group Eczacibasi.
The group attended a paper technology fair in Italy, the company said in a statement.
The helicopter was reportedly an AW119 Koala, manufactured by the Leonardo defense group.
The ANSA news agency said it was owned by the transport and aeronautics company Avio Helicopters, based in Thiene, northern Italy.
The cause of the crash has not yet been confirmed.
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