Update: Volunteer Wildfire Services confirm safety of crew after Hout Bay helicopter incident
The moment the helicopter rotor hit the mountain before it fell to the ground.
Image: Julian Jansen
Volunteer Wildfire Services (VWS) have conformed that all crew involved in the helicopter crash that occurred on Wednesday in Hout Bay are safe.
VWS said they were deeply grateful to learn from their partner SANParks, Table Mountain National Park that the Working on Fire and Kishugu helicopter pilot involved in the incident at Vlakkenberg in Hout Bay are safe.
"We can also confirm that our own ground crew of volunteer firefighters who were on scene at the time are unharmed.
"Helicopters are often first on the scene, operating in extremely difficult, high-risk conditions in support of fire suppression efforts."
During wildfire operations, ground crews and aerial support are indispensable partners in the shared work of protecting lives, communities, and the environment. More than anything else, wildland firefighting is dependent on close collaboration and teamwork across organisations and agencies, and we are proud to be a part of this community.
"Our thoughts are with the pilot involved and the broader Working on Fire, Kishugu, and Table Mountain National Park teams," said VWS in a statement.
Flames and a plume of smoke could be seen after the helicopter, circulating above the veld fire, suddenly dived towards the earth and crashed. It appeared that as it was trying to offload the water, its rotor clipped the rocks on the right side of the mountain.
Mayco member for Safety and Security, JP Smith posted this later in the evening.:
"Sad news... While we were trying to assist SANParks with the fire burning above the Houtbay and Constantia Nek, one of the SANParks-contracted helicopters appears to have clipped the mountain with its main rotor and crashed on the mountain.
"The pilot seems to have survived. We have immediately activated an 'Incident Management Team 5' and have deployed rescue technicians up the mountain face.
Enforcement officers have been dispatched to secure the crash site until SAPS and the Civil Aviation Authority is able to take over the scene."