Planes carrying parachutists collide, crash in Slovakia

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Two planes carrying parachutists collided this morning in western Slovakia, near the Czech Republic. Of around 40 on board, seven are confirmed dead.

The crash site near Červený Kameň is hard to access; rescuers are using helicopters. Investigators believe some passengers survived by jumping from one of the aircraft, which are believed to be twin-engined LET L-410s. An eyewitness told Dennik he saw people leaping from one aircraft as it went down.

The parachutists were practising over the White Carpathians, the mountains that form the Slovak-Czech border, for an upcoming airshow in Slavnica this weekend. Health Minister Viliam Čislák and Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák visited the site.

The aircraft collided at around 8:30a.m. at a height of around 5,000ft (1,500m). Photos of the scene show scattered wreckage, some of it aflame.

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Sources

Adam Withnall. "Slovakia plane crash: Parachutists survive fatal mid-air collision by jumping from aircraft" — The Independent, August 20, 2015
Adam Withnall. "Slovakia plane crash: Two aircraft in fatal mid-air collision near Czech border" — The Independent, August 20, 2015
AP. "Two planes carrying parachutists collide over Slovakia" — The Guardian, August 20, 2015

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Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

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Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.