Six die in helicopter crash in northern Norway

The crash occurred outside Alta, the largest community in Finnmark County.

OSLO — All six people on board a civilian helicopter that crashed in northern Norway on Saturday afternoon have died, the police said on Sunday.

There were five passengers from Norway, all in their early twenties, plus a Swedish pilot. One survivor found at the crash site southwest of Alta has since died at a hospital.

The rescue service said the Airbus AS350 helicopter was operated by Norwegian company Helitrans, which said on its website that it could not comment on the circumstances of the accident.

The Independent Barents Observer (an ArcticToday partner), reported that the helicopter was giving short tours to attendees of a music festival in Alta.

Norwegian authorities launched an investigation on Sunday into the cause of the crash, which was not immediately clear.

An official from the country’s Accident Investigation Board told Norwegian daily paper VG that investigators from France and Airbus were expected to arrive to Norway on Monday.

Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis.