7 dead in air collision over Italian Alps

At least seven people have died in a helicopter and a small plane collision above a glacier in the Italian Alps, officials said on Saturday.

The crash occurred on Friday over the Rutor glacier near La Thuile, in the Aosta Valley, close to northern Italy's border with France and Switzerland. Five people were confirmed dead and two injured the same day.

The helicopter was carrying six people -- the pilot, an alpine guide and four passengers who were heli-skiing. Three people were aboard the light aircraft, all of them were pilots training in mountain flying.

The bodies of two people who were missing were found after the search resumed on Saturday morning, an officer with the Alpine rescue branch of the Financial Police in Courmayeur, in the Aosta Valley, told CNN.

All those on board the two aircraft were now accounted for, according to authorities.

The two injured remained in the hospital, the officer said. Italy's mountain emergency service tweeted that they were of French and Swiss nationality.

--IANS

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