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Panamanian politician posts SOS after helicopter crashes in the woods

Panamanian politician posts SOS after helicopter crashes in the woods

Dimitri Flores at the helicopter crash site in western Panama

A desperate cry for assistance was made on social media by a presidential candidate in Panama after his helicopter crashed into the country's jungle.

The video was recorded by Dimitri Flores, an independent candidate running in the 2024 elections, from the scene of the crash in a mountainous region in western Panama.

Mr. Flores was one of the six passengers on board.Although, everyone in the helicopterhasbeen rescued, some of them havesustained fractures.

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As reported by the BBC, Mr. Flores provided a rough location of the crash site and said that several were injured.

In the footage, Mr. Flores can be heard saying, "We had an accident here, brother, here at 4,500ft (1,400m) in the highlands," as he points to the helicopter's wreckage hidden behind dense bushes.

As per the BBC,The politician slammed the authorities for their delayed action, stating he hadalready waited for four hours and twentyminutes. He also introduced two locals who hadtracked downthe crash scene.

"I'm very disappointed with the authorities. They flew over here with helicopters several times, helicopters which cost us millions, but which they couldn't land here," he says before adding: "There's much work to be done for our country."

National Aeronaval Service rescuers from Panama tweeted that they had spent three hours to walk to the crash site. They thanked the villagers for assisting them in finding the passengers in the nearby woods.

(With inputs from agencies)