By Scott Waide – EM TV, Lae Bureau Chief
Four workers from a Lae based fishing company, Frabelle, were rescued by residents of the Bumbu block in Lae after their helicopter crashed into the Bumbu River just after 10 o’clock this morning.
Eyewitnesses said, the chopper took from the Lae Waterfront and appeared to have experienced engine problems as it reached the mouth of the Bumbu River.
“I saw it heading straight for my house,” said Evana Nathan, a Bumbu block resident whose house is on river’s edge. Then it crashed into the river.
The helicopter carrying four passengers including the pilot was flying very low up the river when the upper portion of the machine struck a cable that ran across the river.
“We all ran down to the chopper,” said one of the rescuers. “We pulled out four people one of whom was under the body of the chopper.”
Police arrived minutes after the crash and secured the area. The cause for the crash is being investigated.
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