The moment the helicopter lost control and crashed almost immediately after takeoff from the helipad of a restaurant in Medellin, Colombia was captured on video.
The pilot, co-pilot and four passengers survived, DailyMail reported. One of the passengers was rushed to a local hospital and treated for a broken left leg and other injuries.
A cell phone video that has gone viral shows how a Bell 206 helicopter carrying tourists suddenly began spinning uncontrollably. He then fell and got stuck on the side of the building.
The passengers, Luisa Osorio and her boyfriend Francisco Salas, reportedly joined the flight to record content for social media. The victims admitted that they were sure they would die.
“We sat down. Literally when he was getting up, he couldn’t make it all the way. He started spinning, spinning really fast, and we said, “We’re going to die here,” Osorio said.
The girl shared that rescuers ordered them to “don’t move, don’t do anything, don’t even breathe” while they pulled them out. Salas called his parents home in the US to say goodbye because he thought he was dying.
“I had the phone and I talked to my mother. I dialed them and video chatted with them. I said goodbye. Even to my brother. And it was a very serious moment. I just wanted to say, ‘Goodbye and “Thank you everyone,” he said.
It is noted that after the incident, local residents rushed to the crash site and helped the survivors. A helicopter ride is one of the activities offered to visitors by the Hangar 45 restaurant, located in the Manrique district of Medellin. Customers pay about $73 for a 12- to 15-minute flight from Olaya Herrera Airport to a restaurant where they are greeted with a cocktail. All helicopter flights are currently suspended while authorities investigate the cause of the crash.