Two
helicopters carrying passengers filming a popular European reality show
crashed in a remote area of northwest Argentina, killing eight French
citizens and two Argentines, authorities said.
The
helicopters crashed on Monday while flying near Villa Castelli in La
Rioja province, about 1,170km northwest of Buenos Aires, La Rioja
Secretary of Security Cesar Angulo told television station TN.
All 10 people on board both aircraft were killed.
“An explosion occured and it’s believed that they must have
collided,” said Angulo. “Aeronautical experts will have to determine
that”.
La
Rioja police commissary Fabian Gordillo told state news agency Telam
that the dead included two Argentine pilots and eight French citizens.
French
President Francois Hollande’s office confirmed the deaths of the French
nationals. The Elysee Palace said in a statement that famed sailor
Florence Arthaud, Olympic swimmer Camille Muffat and boxer Alexis
Vastine were among the dead.
The pilots were identified as Juan Carlos Castillo and Roberto Abate.
The mayor of Villa Castelli, Andres Navarrete, said the French
nationals were part of a team filming the reality show “Dropped,” a
survivalist programme with several versions across Europe.The crew had arrived on Sunday in Villa Castelli, where it had previously filmed a version of the show for Switzerland and Denmark, said Navarrette.
The
accident occurred in a rugged, sparsely populated area on the edge of
the Andes mountain range that separates Argentina and Chile.
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