Bodies of French Olympians recovered in Argentina air crash

Argentine Investigators plucked cellphones, bits of paper and other mostly charred and unrecognizable items on Tuesday from the ruins of two helicopters that collided while carrying two prominent French Olympic athletes, an accident that left the European nation in mourning and had Argentine experts struggling to understand how two experienced pilots lost control. The ten bodies were being transported to the regional capital of La Rioja province, where autopsies would be conducted, Judge Virginia Illanes Bordon told The Associated Press. French authorities will open an official manslaughter investigation into the tragic helicopter accident. The athletes had been among the contestants in the reality TV show ”Dropped,” which was being shot in the sparsely populated region.

The sun was setting on the Andes mountain range directly in front of them. Also this is an area with wind gusts. What happened was incomprehensible.

La Rioja Aviation Director Daniel Gorkich

La Rioja Aviation Director Daniel Gorkich said that both pilots were highly trained and speculated that afternoon sun and strong winds might have been a factor in the crash. ”Dropped” was being carried by TF1 - France’s leading private-sector network - which cancelled another reality show two years ago after a 25-year-old participant died of a heart attack on the first day of filming in Cambodia.

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