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.
Those killed were identified as a guide and a doctor – both Tanzanians – the Zimbabwean pilot and two tourists from the Czech Republic, the Tanzania National Parks said in a statement.
The helicopter crashed near the mountain’s Barafu Camp on Dec. 24, Tanzania’s Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement.
The Mwananchi newspaper and East Africa TV, citing Kilimanjaro region’s head of police, reported that the helicopter was on a medical rescue mission.
Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak, is nearly 6,000 meters (20,000 feet) above sea level.
The crash happened between 4,670 and 4,700 meters, Mwananchi reported.
About 50,000 tourists climb Kilimanjaro annually.
(Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Saad Sayeed and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)