Germany Mid-Air Collision of Plane, Helicopter Leaves 4 Dead

Four people are dead in Germany after a mid-air collision between a plane and a rescue helicopter near Philippsburg in the Baden-Wurttemberg region.

The crash occurred near a gravel pit in the town at about 1 p.m. local time. A nuclear power plant is in the region, which also has 13,000 residents, The Sun reported. The reason for the collision is unknown.

The rescue helicopter was on a training flight, the BBC reported. The two helicopter pilots and both occupants on the plane were killed in the crash.

“We do not yet know who was in which aircraft,” a police spokesman said, the BBC reported. The spokesman did not say whether there were any other victims. 

Flaming debris was spread across a wide area of Philippsburg after the crash, The Express reported.

Germany’s civil air rescue service DRF Luftrettung operated the rescue helicopter, according to The Express. 

Germany’s worst recent mid-air collision was in 2002 when a passenger jet collided with a cargo jet over Uberlingen and all 71 people on board both planes were killed.

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