A helicopter crashed on Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro, killing five people, the civil aviation authority said on Thursday, while local media reported the plane was on a medical rescue mission.
The dead were identified as a guide and a doctor, both Tanzanians, the pilot from Zimbabwe and two tourists from the Czech Republic, Tanzania National Parks said in a statement.
The helicopter crashed near the mountain’s Barafu camp on Wednesday, the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement.
Mwananchi newspaper and East Africa TV, citing the police chief of the Kilimanjaro region, reported that the helicopter was on a medical rescue mission.
Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak, stands nearly 6,000 meters (20,000 feet) above sea level.
The accident occurred between 4,670 and 4,700 meters, Mwananchi reported.
Around 50,000 tourists climb Kilimanjaro each year.
