A helicopter crashed on Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro, killing five people, civil aviation authorities said Thursday, while local media reported the plane was carrying out a medical rescue mission.
Those killed were identified as a guide and a doctor, both Tanzanian, the Zimbabwean pilot and two Czech tourists, Tanzania National Parks said in a statement.
The helicopter crashed near the mountainous Barafu camp on Wednesday, Tanzania’s civil aviation authority said in a statement.
The Mwananchi newspaper and East Africa TV, citing the Kilimanjaro region police chief, reported that the helicopter was carrying out a medical rescue mission.
Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak, rises nearly 6,000 meters (20,000 feet) above sea level.
The accident occurred between 4,670 and 4,700 meters, Mwananchi reported.
Around 50,000 tourists climb Kilimanjaro every year.
