Lithuanian-registered helicopter crashes into sea near Jūrmala

A Lithuanian-registered helicopter that fell into the sea near Jūrmala, Latvia, last Saturday was carrying only its pilot, who was not injured, LRT reported, citing the LETA news agency.

The Konner K1-S19 helicopter crashed in the sea off the Majori district of Jūrmala, a Latvian city. The Transport Accident and Incident Investigation Bureau’s investigator for maritime accidents, Signe Klusa, said the bureau had begun procedures to establish the circumstances of the accident.

The helicopter was recovered from the sea on August 17 and taken to the bureau’s hangar for further inspection. The bureau has opened a safety investigation into the aviation accident and will collect and analyse information to determine its circumstances and causes.

The investigation is still at an early stage, and the bureau said it would not speculate about the possible cause of the crash.

The aircraft fell in the Gulf of Riga several hundred metres from the shore on August 15. The report was received at 1:24 p.m. local time. Municipal police officers rescued one person from the water and brought the person ashore on a personal watercraft before handing them over to emergency medical services.

Rescuers inspected the crash site from a vessel and found no signs of chemical spills or people in the water.