Two of the three people killed in a helicopter crash on the Isle of Wight have been named.
Emergency services were called to the site of the crash, which took place during a flying lesson, near the A3020 Shanklin Road, at 9.24am on Monday morning.
By the evening, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary confirmed that four people in total were onboard the helicopter, three of whom had died, and one person who had been taken to hospital in a serious condition.
Aerial view of the crash site
Justyna Czoska and Wojtek Kowalkowski, from Bloxham, Oxfordshire, were passengers on the helicopter and died in the crash, family members have said.
In a Facebook post, Justyna’s daughter, Julia Buzar, said: “I have no words. The world took my mum too soon, she was the best mum you could ask for, loved by everyone. I never thought I’d be writing something like this.
“Please, if anyone could help bring them back to Poland so they can be with their families, it would mean the world to me. Rest in peace, mum and Wojtek.”
In a post on fundraising site GoFundMe, Julia’s partner, Jacob Butler, wrote that the “sudden and devastating event has left all us heartbroken and struggling to cope with the loss”.
The appeal is aimed at raising sufficient funds to “bring them both back to Poland so they can be laid to rest with their families, in the place they called home”.
Whatever is raised will help cover the cost of “repatriation, funeral arrangements and travel,” the message said. By Tuesday afternoon, pledges had reached more than £3,000.
Darren Toogood, editor and publisher at the Island Echo, told Sky News presenter Kamali Melbourne the Robinson R44 II helicopter crashed on a “significantly busy, high-speed road” between the village of Godshill and the seaside town of Shanklin.
“It was on one of the first flights of the day,” he said.
“It’s an incredibly busy area.”
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The Air Accident Investigation Branch is looking into the causes of the crash.
A witness, Leigh Goldsmith, told the Isle of Wight County Press she saw the helicopter “spiralling” before crashing into a hedge as she drove along the road.
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