Military officials in Greece say four army officers have been killed and one injured in the crash of a border patrol helicopter in northern Greece.

The incident occurred Wednesday, north of the town of Elassona, some 450 kilometers (280 miles) northwest of Athens.

Army officials say the Huey UH-1H helicopter had been on a routine border patrol flight.

A Greek military official confirmed the deaths to The Associated Press, but insisted on anonymity pending an official announcement.

An extensive search of the rugged area was launched after the army lost contact with the helicopter, which had taken off from the central city of Larissa.</s>THESSALONIKI, Greece — Military officials in Greece say four army officers have been killed and one injured in the crash of a border patrol helicopter in northern Greece.

The incident occurred Wednesday, north of the town of Elassona, some 450 kilometers (280 miles) northwest of Athens.

Army officials say the Huey UH-1H helicopter had been on a routine border patrol flight.

A Greek military official confirmed the deaths to The Associated Press, but insisted on anonymity pending an official announcement.

An extensive search of the rugged area was launched after the army lost contact with the helicopter, which had taken off from the central city of Larissa.

The Greek Defence Ministry published the names of the four dead army officers who lost their lives when their helicopter crashed in the area of Sarantaporos, Elassona, on Wednesday morning and the name of the one officer who was injured, ANA says.

Major General Ioannis Tzanidakis has been promoted this year to deputy commander of the Greek First Army.

Colonel Thomas Adamos was 50 years old and security director in the First Army.

 Major Dimosthenis Goulas, the helicopter pilot, was 35 years old and had completed 1,620 hours of flight in this type of army helicopters.

Lieutenant Konstantinos Hatzis, the co-pilot, was 28 years old and had completed 405 flight hours in the same type of helicopters.

First Sergeant Vasiliki Plexida, who was injured in the crash, is being treated for limited injuries at a military hospital in Thessaloniki. She is 26 years old.</s>UPD: Four people have died and one is seriously injured in the UH-1H Greek army helicopter crash in the area of Sarantaporos-Elessona. Sargeant major Vasiliki Plejida was found seriously injured by rescue teams and is being transported to the 424 Military hospital of Thessaloniki for treatement. The 4 dead officers have been identified as: Major-General Ioannis Tzanidakis, Colonel Thomas Adamou, Major Dimosthenis Goulas and του Lieutenant Konstantinos Chatzis.

UPD: The UH-1H military helicopter has been found according to a statement released by the Army General Staff. “The UH-1H army helicopter (Huey) has been detected in the region of Sarantaporos-Elassona. Rescue means are on the scene. More developments soon”, the statement reads.

A Huey type military helicopter carrying 5 army personnel, has disappeared from the radar in the area of Sarantaporos, in northwestern Greece. The Greek Defence Ministry is on alert. The radar signal of the aircraft was lost initially in the Elassona area near Larissa. Authorities are trying to pinpoint its whereabouts with a Super Puma, an Agusta Bell of the Air Force and a CL-415 fire-fighter aircraft taking place in operations. The Army General Staff issued a statement reading: “We would like to inform that in the morning hours (7.30am) on April 19, 2017 there was a loss of signal and communication with helicopter UH-1H with 5 passengers which was executing the scheduled route from Larissa to Kozani. All necessary actions have been taken. Developments will become public”.</s>The Greek military on Wednesday was investigating the cause of a helicopter crash that killed four army officers and injured a fifth, prompting Defense Minister Panos Kammenos to declare three days of national mourning.

The UH-1H helicopter crashed near the village of Sarantaporo in Elassona, central Greece, on Wednesday morning, during a routine patrol flight, according to defense sources.

Such routine flights are regularly carried out as part of exercises to monitor the country’s northern borders, the sources said.

The officers killed in the crash were Major-General Yiannis Tzanidakis, Colonel Thomas Adamou, Major Dimosthenis Goulas and First Lieutenant Constantinos Hatzis. Sergeant Major Vassiliki Plexida emerged from the wreckage with relatively minor injuries but remained in shock late on Wednesday.

It remained unclear what went wrong and caused the so-called Huey chopper to crash.

The UH-1H disappeared from the air force radar shortly before 8 a.m., prompting authorities to dispatch two F-16s, three rescue helicopters and a CL-415 fire service aircraft to search for it.

Police in the area of Sarantaporo reported a helicopter crash shortly after 10 a.m.

The fall knocked out the power supply in the area, raising questions about whether the helicopter hit electricity lines.

Military officials indicated that the UH-1H in question had not had any mechanical problems.

Authorities are expected to question Plexida when she has recovered from her injuries and shock.

Separately Kammenos lashed out at Ankara after six Turkish fighter jets violated Greek air space in the Aegean in wake of the four army deaths.

“The violations on a day of mourning in the Greek armed forces... show the quality of the Turks,” Kammenos wrote on his Twitter account.</s>Greece’s armed forces on Wednesday declared three days of mourning on the orders of Defense Minister Panos Kammenos over a helicopter crash earlier in the day that killed four army officers and injured one.

The Huey UH-1H went down north of the town of Elassona in northern Greece during what officials said was a routine border patrol flight.

The Greek president, Parliament’s spokesman and the country’s political leadership expressed their sadness and dismay over the incident.

“The nation and the people express their deepest anguish but also their sincere gratitude to the heroic officers who fell at the altar of defending our national security,” President Prokopis Pavlopoulos said in a statement.

 

 “Today’s loss of four officers of the Greek army in the line of duty is a great sadness to all of us,” Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said. “To their families I express heartfelt condolences, both personally and on behalf of the government and the Greek people.”

“On behalf of the Parliament of the Hellenic Republic and myself personally, I express my deep sadness and sincere condolences to the families of the officers... I also wish a speedy recovery to Sergeant Vassiliki Plexida,” parliamentary spokesman Nikos Voutsis said, referring to the injured officer.

New Democracy chief Kyriakos Mitsotakis also extended his condolences to the families of the victims and called for an immediate investigation into the causes of the crash. His sentiments were echoed by the leadership of the PASOK socialist party and of the Greek Communist Party.</s>The sole survivor of a military helicopter crash that killed four army officers has said that the aircraft got tangled in power lines before going down.

 

 The UH-1H helicopter crashed on Wednesday near the village of Sarantaporo in Elassona, central Greece, during a routine patrol flight.

 

 During her testimony, excerpts of which were published Thursday in Ethnos daily, Sergeant Major Vassiliki Plexida, who emerged from the wreckage with relatively minor injuries, said that the so-called Huey chopper had been flying in reduced visibility due to fog.

 

 The officers killed in the crash were Major-General Yiannis Tzanidakis, Colonel Thomas Adamou, Major Dimosthenis Goulas and First Lieutenant Constantinos Hatzis.

 

 Defense Minister Panos Kammenos declared three days of national mourning in the wake of the accident.
Four Hellenic Army officers are killed and one is injured when their Bell UH-1 Iroquois border patrol helicopter crashes near Elassona in northern Greece.