A press release issued by the Ministry of National Security earlier this afternoon has confirmed that a Belize Defense Force (BDF) U1H1 helicopter crash landed yesterday, in the vicinity of Gales Point.
On board the helicopter were its pilot, Major Adran Ramirez and Major Radford Baizar, and two crew members, Corporal Yassir Mendez and Corporal Reinaldo Choco.
The Ministry’s press release said that the helicopter left yesterday, Thursday morning, as part of the operations involving the drug plane.
Member of the Belize Coast Guard are participating in a search and rescue operation, the press release said.
Families of the pilots and crew are in communication with the Ministry of National Security which is offering support and are keeping them updated.
An unconfirmed report a short while ago said that three bodies from the crashed helicopter have been recovered.
The U1H1 is one of two helicopters that were donated by the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the BDF.