NINE people have been killed after a military helicopter crashed in El Salvador.
Among those onboard were a chief of civil police and a money laundering suspect when the chopper of the El Salvador Armed Forces fell near the southeastern city of Pasaquina.
GettyNine people were killed in a chopper crash in El Salvador[/caption]
Video shows what appears to be the chopper’s wreckageTwitter
TwitterPeople could be seen scouring the jungle with flashlights[/caption]
Twitter/@dpi_hondurasManuel Coto Barrientos, the former executive president of the Santa Victoria Cooperative, was arrested in Honduras on Saturday[/caption]
The horror plunge took place on Sunday night as social media footage showed what appeared to be the chopper’s wreckage in the middle of the jungle.
Men could be seen scouring the pitch-black grounds with their flashlights.
On board the aircraft were Mauricio Arriaza Chicas, the director of the National Civil Police, and Manuel Coto Barrientos, the former executive president of the Santa Victoria Cooperative (Cosavi).
Barrientos had been turned over by the Honduran police a few hours prior in response to an international arrest warrant for suspected money laundering, local media reports.
He was caught on Saturday in Choluteca, Honduras, while allegedly trying to flee to the United States, according to El Heraldo.
Barrientos, along with his parents and two of his brothers, are being investigated for the alleged embezzlement of at least $35 million.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has assured that the helicopter crash cannot be considered a “simple accident”.
In a messaged shared on X, formerly Twitter, he wrote: “It is necessary to investigate thoroughly and to the final consequences. We will ask for international help.”
It comes after a helicopter returning from fighting a fire crashed into a Portuguese river last month.
Tourists are said to have watched in horror as the chopper dived into the Douro River in northern Portugal – killing five of the six on board.
The body of the fifth victim was found on August 31 after search and rescue divers had been frantically scouring the river for survivors.
The chopper had been tackling a fire in Baiao near to the crash scene when it went down.
Maritime Police described the crash as having “great violence” leading to the aircraft’s “total destruction”.
It is not yet clear what caused the crash, by the cop said it was unlikely a ditching.
The victims, aged from 29 to 45, are all members of the Emergency Protection and Rescue Unit (UEPS) of the national police.
Divers were from the Portuguese Navy and from a local Hydrographic Institute who used sonar to find the wreckage.
GNR (National Republican Guard) spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Mafalda Almeida, said: “We will not fail their families.”
“We bow before their greatness, in the certainty that the best way to honour their memory is to move forward, with the same dedication and bravery they demonstrated.”
ReutersPresident of El Salvador Nayib Bukele (pictured in 2019) shared a message on Twitter following the crash[/caption]