It has been confirmed by emergency services that yesterday’s helicopter crash in the Monchique hills caused the death of one man and left two injured.
The electricity supply to a large area of Monchique has been cut off as the helicopter severed power lines.
The helicopter belongs to Heliportugal and was under contract to electricity supply company EDP. It crashed in Vale de Água between Casais and Marmelete in an area with tricky access in the middle of a eucalyptus forest but within 300 metres of houses.
The helicopter was a Eurocopter EC-120B Colibri which broke in two on impact causing the immediate death of one of the three Portuguese occupants.
The pilot was one of the injured. The other survivor and the dead man were employees of EDP.
The injured were freed from the wreckage by firefighters, attended to on site by INEM paramedics and then were taken to the Hospital in Portimão.
The seriously injured pilot was evacuated by helicopter to the Santa Maria Hospital in Lisbon.
Investigators from the National Institute of Civil Aviation are assessing the site and will report on the likely or definite cause of the crash but it seems that the helicopter did indeed hit medium voltage power cables which caused it to lose control.
The Marmelete area lost all power as a result of the crash, as did areas in the district of Aljezur. EDP teams are working to reconnect the supply as soon as possible this evening.
The mayor of Monchique Rui André said the helicopter was carrying out the standard monitoring of power lines and suggested that something abnormal must have occurred for the experienced pilot to have lost control.
