The second pilot involved in a helicopter crash off the coast of Umm Al Quwain on Thursday has been confirmed dead.
The crash involved an AeroGulf Bell 212 medium helicopter which took off from Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai for a night-training exercise with two pilots – an Egyptian and a South African.
Authorities on Friday said one pilot had been found dead. Their nationality was not shared at the time.
A search and rescue operation had been under way since to find the second pilot. However, a statement on the AeroGulf website on Sunday afternoon confirmed they had also died.
“AeroGulf Services regret to inform that one of our Bell 212 helicopters crashed into the sea off the coast of the UAE at 20.07 on September 7, 2023,” the company said.
“The helicopter was conducting routine training operations between Al Maktoum International Airport and an offshore rig.
“The helicopter was carrying two crew members and no passengers on-board. Sadly, we can confirm that both crew members have perished.”
The Air Accident Investigation Sector of the General Civil Aviation Authority was alerted about the crash at 8.30pm on Thursday.
AeroGulf is based at Al Maktoum International Airport.
“We are working with the aviation authorities and doing all we can to gather information as quickly as possible,” the helicopter operator said.
“At this moment our thoughts and prayers are with our crew and their families who were on board the helicopter. We will do everything we can to help those who have been affected by this accident.
“Our emergency response has been activated and again we are working closely with all the authorities involved. We will share as much information as possible just as soon as we can. Further statements will be issued once more details become available,” AeroGulf said.
An earlier version of this story stated the crash happened in Dubai.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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