Surviving soldiers extracted from crash site

Lieutenant Andio Crawford and Corporal Dwayne Jackson, the two soldiers who survived Wednesday’s helicopter accident, were extracted from the crash site on Friday afternoon.

The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) said the two ranks were medically examined and arrangements are being made to have them transported to the Eugene F. Correia International Airport, Ogle.

“The two survivors of Wednesday’s fatal Bell 412 crash have been extracted from the site of the accident and were flown to the Blake Slater aerodrome,” the GDF said in a statement.

The two survivors were among seven soldiers on board the army helicopter.

The rescue team located the site on Thursday about nine miles south-east of “Blake Slater’s” airstrip, Ekereku Top, Cuyuni River and then confirmed that five crew members perished in the accident.

They are Lieutenant Colonel Michael Charles, Colonel Michael Shahoud, Retired Brigadier Gary Beaton, Lieutenant Colonel Sean Welcome and Staff Sergeant Jason Khan.

The army helicopter reportedly lost signal 30 miles from the border with Venezuela.

Since the discovery was made, strenuous efforts were made to extract the survivors and the bodies of the dead services from the site.

However, this was affected by bad weather conditions. Priority was given to the survivors.

As they remained at the site overnight, rescue team including medical personnel, accompanied them, providing the necessary support.

In a statement on Thursday, GDF said following extraction, an investigation will commence into the incident.