It was a once-ina-lifetime experience
that ended in tragedy. This couple,
Yustinina Choska and Voytech Kovalovski,
two of the victims from yesterday's
helicopter crash in the aisle of white.
Yina's daughter, Julia, reflected the
agony her and the wider family are
facing, posting this tribute online. She
was the best mom you could ask for,
loved by everyone, she wrote. This
sudden and devastating event has left
all of us heartbroken and struggling to
cope with the loss.
Today, the helicopter which came down in
a rural area in the southeast of the
island has remained there as the
painstaking process of finding answers
as to how this happened continues. The
crash has significantly impacted the
community, including those at the local
airport who had been working with the
pilot in recent years.
>> We're absolutely horrified, devastated.
Everyone here is affected the whole
white community. You know, these
helicopter flights have been operating
for years here without any issues at
all. You know, there's thousands of
these helicopters operating without
incident, but unfortunately, they are
machines and you know, there's no 100%
guarantee in life. The investigation
into how what was meant to be an
enjoyable experience. A flying lesson
turned into tragedy a few hundred meters
behind me continues. As part of that,
North Umbrea helicopters, which owns the
aircraft in question, says it is fully
cooperating with the authorities.
The tributes will continue as does a
fundraising campaign looking to bring
Yustinina and Voytech back home so they
can be laid to rest in their native
Poland.
Within the last hour, we have seen
members from the air accidents
investigation branch go beyond the
cordon on the road several hundred
meters behind me as the investigation
work continues tonight. As for that
fundraising campaign I mentioned in my
report to bring the couple back home to
Poland to be laid to rest, well, a short
time ago that had reached well over half
its fundraising target, showing the
strength of support here for those
affected by yesterday's tragedy in the
island.