The Ponts-de-Martel (NE)
Three people lost their lives Saturday morning in a plane crash
The aircraft which had taken off from La Chaux-de-Fonds crashed in a forest at a place called La Combe Dernier in Ponts-de-Martel. The pilot and his two passengers died.
PublishedMay 20, 2023, 2:34 PM
The Neuchâtel police are at the scene of the crash (pretext photo).
NE cantonal police
Saturday around 10:20 a.m., a plane crashed in a forest at a place called La Combe Dernier in Ponts-de-Martel. The pilot and his two passengers died on the spot. The aircraft, registered in Switzerland, took off in the morning from La Chaux-de-Fonds airport and was on a sightseeing flight. Significant relief resources were deployed to the scene (see box). The wreckage of the aircraft being in a particularly steep place, the rescue operations proved to be delicate.
The causes of the accident are currently unknown. The Swiss Security Investigation Service (SESE) went on site to determine them. In addition, the Public Ministry of the Confederation, competent in matters of aviation accidents, was informed and opened an investigation, supported in the process by investigators from the federal police.
The first aid detachment of the Neuchâtel Mountains (DPS MN) dispatched two heavy vehicles and two light vehicles, 15 professional firefighters, including members of the GRIMP group, to the scene, as well as 2 volunteer firefighters from Ponts-de-Martel. The Neuchâtel police have hired around twenty gendarmes and three personnel from the judicial police. The duty prosecutor also visited the scene.
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(XFZ)
