Two German airmen killed in EC-135 crash during training flight Updated

On July 29, two German air force personnel were killed when an EC-135 helicopter crashed into the Mulde River near Grimma, Saxony, during a training flight, the Defence Ministry said.

The aircraft, contracted for training, went down under unclear circumstances, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

A third crew member remains missing, with search operations involving over 100 personnel, including police divers, still underway.

Defence Minister Boris Pistorius confirmed the crew belonged to Helicopter Wing 64 and called the loss deeply felt by the armed forces. He vowed a full investigation into the cause. The wreckage was found after canoeists alerted authorities.

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A helicopter belonging to the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) has crashed into the Mulde River near the town of Grimma in Saxony, eastern Germany.

The incident was confirmed by a spokeswoman for the Leipzig police, who stated that no casualties had been confirmed as of yet, Caliber.Az reports, citing German media.

According to the Leipziger Volkszeitung, the aircraft disappeared from radar between 10:00 and 10:30 a.m. local time. The Leipzig District Fire Brigade Association reported that debris was discovered in the river by paddlers at approximately noon, prompting an immediate emergency response.

Police later confirmed the downed aircraft was indeed a Bundeswehr helicopter. A military exclusion zone has since been established around the crash site. 

Germany’s Ministry of Defence has not yet issued an official statement, though local reported earlier that the helicopter and its pilot were unaccounted for, further raising concerns over the fate of the crew.

The crash site has presented logistical challenges for emergency personnel. According to a spokesman from the fire brigade, significant amounts of kerosene had leaked into the river, and the wreckage remains partially submerged, complicating recovery operations. “The wreck lies in the middle of the river and is difficult to access,” he said.

Roughly 50 emergency responders are currently involved in the operation, working to contain the environmental damage caused by the fuel spill and to recover the remains of the helicopter. The cause of the crash remains unknown, and investigations are underway.

By Vafa Guliyeva