One dead after Czech military helicopter crash

One person died and several others were injured Thursday when a Czech military helicopter crashed with five soldiers on board, the army and emergency services said.

The army said a Venom helicopter crashed at the 22nd helicopter base in Namest nad Oslavou and that emergency services were at the scene. Petr Janacek, a spokesman for the Vysocina regional rescue services, said one passenger was found dead and three people were taken to hospitals in the region. He said two of the injured had moderately serious injuries and that a rescue operation was still under way.

No information was immediately available about the fifth soldier. The Namest nad Oslavou airbase is about 200 kilometres southeast of Prague. Regional police said they were informed of the accident at 12:11 pm, or 1011 GMT.

The Czech army bought eight UH-1Y Venom multi-purpose helicopters and four AH-1Z Viper combat helicopters from the United States in 2019. The final two aircraft were delivered in June 2024. American instructors trained Czech personnel on the aircraft until last year.

Defence Minister Jaromir Zuna called the crash an immense tragedy and said an inquiry was under way to determine the cause.