A 60 year old businessman from Murcia has died while piloting a gyrocopter, in a small private helicopter, crashing it into the sea off the coast of Santa Pola (Alicante ), according to Red Cross sources.
The crash took place at 1215 hours on Saturday in the Eastern Bay of Santa Pola. A lifeguard who was patrolling on the beach at the time saw the incident and immediately informed the emergency services and the coastguard.
It was the coastguard who were first onto the scene in the LS boat Pluto – a vessel regularly used for sea rescue efforts. They were able to locate the helicopter pilot and move him to shore.
There he was met by paramedics from SAMU and a Red Cross ambulance. Neither were resuscitate the victim, and, according to the CICU were only able to confirmed his death.
Members of the Red Cross and the Group of Underwater Activities (GEAS) of the Civil Guard, continued to search the area for other possible victims but finally concluded that the pilot, named as Manuel Baños, was flying alone.
Snr Baños was a well known local businessman who operated a chain of bakeries in the Murcia region. He was opened a new branch in Santa Pola only on the previous day.
Source: Kevin Reardon, The Leader
