Friday, March 29

The pilot of the firefighting plane that disappeared on the border between Zamora and Ourense was found dead

The Rescue and Salvage Group of the Civil Protection and Emergency Agency of the Junta de Castilla y León has located the firefighting plane missing since this Wednesday in Peña Trevinca, a mountainous area about five kilometers northeast of the town of Porto, in the province of Zamora, located on the border with Ourense. According to sources related to the case consulted by elDiario.es, the pilot, Santiago D., 39, married and originally from Seville, has lost his life in the accident. Rescue personnel have found him inside the aircraft, as confirmed by Emergencies 112.

The Government delegate in Castilla y León, Virginia Barcones, has reported that around 3:20 p.m. this Friday, an Emergency helicopter has sighted the remains of the device in a high mountain area that is impossible to access by road. After managing to land, a complicated task due to the rain, the fog and the difficulty of entry, it has been verified that next to the remains of the device was the lifeless body of a man.

The Civil Guard is managing the rescue of the corpse, which will be transferred to the Forensic Anatomical Institute of Zamora, and is investigating the circumstances of the incident together with the CIAIAC (Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Commission), under the tutelage of the Investigating Court of Puebla de Sanabria.

Likewise, Barcones has transferred condolences to the family, friends and co-workers of the pilot and has thanked the people who have participated in the search.

Loss of contact around 12.30 on Wednesday

The plane, a single-seater Thrush 710P with registration EC-MXL, was making a transfer flight on Wednesday from 11:35 a.m. between the Doade base (Monforte de Lemos, Lugo) and the Córdoba base, but bad weather conditions made that the pilot decided to return to the starting point while flying over Salamanca. The company that owns the aircraft reported the loss of contact at 12:30 p.m. while it was traveling through the province of Zamora.

The search covered a large area close to 180 square kilometers to cover the provinces of Zamora, León, Ourense and also the adjoining areas of Portugal. The search operation has been made up of helicopters, Citizen Security patrols, Seprona agents, a Pegaso team and a Civil Guard drone, as well as a plane from the SAR of the Air Force, as well as a helicopter and several environmental agents from the Board from Castilla y León and, already this Friday, some thirty vehicles and reinforcement forestry brigades from Galicia.

The beacon of the plane that would allow its location, explained Barcones, was not activated, although this does not have to be negative, since the device only comes into operation due to a “major impact” and not due to a forced landing or not be on track.

Barcones; the sub-delegate of the Government in Zamora, Ángel Blanco, and the head of the Zamora Civil Guard Command, Héctor David Pulido, had moved to the command post that coordinates the search, located in Puebla de Sanabria. The pilot’s relatives have also come to this town.

Work continues to recover the body.

A rescue group continues with the work to recover the body of the deceased pilot. As reported by the sub-delegate of the Government in Zamora, Ángel Blanco, at 7:40 p.m. this Friday it had not yet been possible to complete this task, despite the collaboration of a specialized team from Orense.

The subdelegate has indicated that, once this work is completed, the body of the deceased will be transferred to the Zamora forensic anatomical institute, where an autopsy will be performed: “There was hope in the morning, but with the discovery it has disappeared”, he has indicated. Blanco, in statements sent to the media.

The government representative took advantage of his speech to convey his thanks to all the people who have participated in a complex search, “over a very large area, with complicated orography and adverse weather.”





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