national

11 killed in helicopter crash

Chile’s top police official, General José Bernales, and his wife were among the fatalities.

Four Panamanians perished in the tragic event, including the pilot, Juan Delgado.

LA PRENSA/Ivan uribe

tragic:Firefighters battle a blaze that broke out when a helicopter carrying 12 people crashed into a Calidonia building. There were 11 fatalities. Only the co-pilot survived.1032579

As Hernaldo Camargo was pulled out of the wreckage of the helicopter he had been co-piloting, he had only one thought on his mind -- his fellow passengers.

"How are my colleagues," the bloodied Fuerza Pública sergeant kept asking his rescuers, some of whom had been eating lunch nearby just moments before.

The grim answer would be quickly apparent. Dead bodies lay in the streets around the crash site. The helicopter's pilot, Juan Delgado, would be pulled from the wreckage unconscious, and would later die at Hospital Santo Tomás.

In one of the worst air disasters in Panama's history, 11 people died yesterday when the helicopter they were in plunged into a building in Calidonia.

The victims included members of a delegation from Chile, including the country's top police official, General José Bernales, who were in Panama for a police conference. Four of the people killed were members of Panama's Fuerza Pública.

Camargo told his rescuers that the helicopter started having engine problems. It lost altitude and hit the Banana Price warehouse, located at Calle Q and Avenida Central.

A witness said the helicopter narrowly avoided several other buildings before crashing, and that the pilot was having obvious difficulties controlling the aircraft.

Firefighters and other emergency personnel were on the scene for hours battling the fires caused by the accident and trying to help the victims.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said yesterday that the country will have three days of mourning for the crash victims, and that a delegation has been dispatched to Panama to retrieve the remains.

"For me, as president, there is a tremendous amount of pain because General Bernales was beloved and respected by Chileans," Bachelet said.

Panama's ministro de Gobierno y Justicia, Daniel Delgado Diamante, said that the Chilean delegation was in Panama to sign a training agreement between the police forces of both countries.

The victims included Bernales' top aide, Oscar Tapia, and the wives of both men.

In the past 11 years, the Servicio Aéreo Nacional has reported 17 accidents involving helicopters, including five belonging to the agency. Excluding yesterday's accident, 22 people were killed and 12 others injured.