February 19, 2010

UPDATE:

The commodore of Helicopter Sea Combat Wing Atlantic held a press conference Friday to announce all 17 personnel on board a military helicopter that crashed were successfully rescued from the aircraft.

The helicopter crashed yesterday shortly after 1 p.m. on the side of a mountain in West Virginia in more than four feet of snow.

“Our primary focus has been the safe evacuation of all the aircrew and passengers,” said Capt. Steve Schreiber of the Helicopter Sea Combat Wing Atlantic. “As of this morning all personnel have either been evacuated from the crash site or are being evacuated.”

There were injuries reported, ranging from minor bruises to fractures, but none of the injuries are considered life threatening.

Those aboard the helicopter included 11 Navy and four National Guard personnel and two Marines. Nine of the passengers have been treated and released at Elkins Medical Facility, and one is currently inbound to Elkins.

Three have been admitted for treatment and four are being transported to UVA Trauma Center in Charlottesville.

Schreiber lauded the heroic efforts of the crew and passengers, as well as the rescuers first on the scene.

"I’d like to thank the West Virginia National Guard and the local responders for their heroic work. Their efforts were extraordinary and took place under the most difficult of situations. The rescuers had to traverse more than three miles from the nearest road through heavily wooded and mountainous terrain to reach the crash site,” Schreiber said. “A special thanks to the Snowshoe Mountain Ski Resort for providing Snowcats that enabled first responders to reach the site.”

The crew spent the night on the mountain and had to wait for rescuers to reach them, but Schreiber said they were prepared to weather the adverse conditions.

“The temperatures were less than 20 degrees, but the crew was able to start fires to keep themselves warm. They put their extensive survival training to use while they waited to be evacuated,” he said. “The passengers were all involved in a joint training exercise and were equipped to operate in the cold.”

The cause of the crash is currently under investigation.

__________________________________________________________

The University of Virginia Medical Center is treating at least three patients who were injured in a military helicopter crash in West Virginia.

Roads around the hospital were closed when a helicopter carrying the injured flew in. The hospital was on lockdown as the paitients were brought in.

The lockdown has been lifted, and all roads are reopened.

Seventeen people were on board the military helicopter when it crashed. Officials say none of the injuries are life threatening, but they range from minor to serious.

Some have been treated and released from Elkins Hospital in West Virginia, but the four who arrived at UVa. Medical Center were flown from there.

The military helicopter took off from Fort Pickett and was heading to Camp Dawson when it crashed. There were 11 members of the Navy on board, in addition to four from the National Guard and Army and two from the Marine Corps, said Mike Maus, deputy force public affairs officer for the Commander Naval Air Force U.S. Atlantic Fleet.

CBS19 received reports that several surgical residents were paged in.