Helicopter crash on Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro kills five, aviation authority says

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania - A helicopter crashed on Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro, killing five people, the civil aviation authority said on Dec 25, while local media reported that the aircraft was on a medical rescue mission.

The helicopter crashed near the mountain’s Barafu Camp on Dec 24, Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement.

Mwananchi newspaper and East Africa TV, citing Kilimanjaro region’s head of police Simon Maigwa, reported that the helicopter was on a medical rescue mission. 

Among the dead were a guide, a doctor, the pilot and two foreign tourists, Mwananchi cited Mr Maigwa as saying, without giving the tourists’ nationalities.

Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak, is nearly 6,000m above sea level.

The crash happened between 4670m and 4700m, Mwananchi reported.

Around 50,000 tourists climb Kilimanjaro annually. REUTERS