Hunt on for copter pilot, official

2003-05-21 09:58

Johannesburg - The search for two men, missing after their helicopter crashed into Lesotho's Katse Dam on Tuesday morning, was resumed on Wednesday.

It is feared the pilot and a senior official of the Lesotho Highlands Development Agency went down with the helicopter when it hit the water between 09:00 and 10:00.

The Katse Dam is the deepest in southern Africa and the wreckage of the Lesotho defence force helicopter is lying under 98m of water, about 50m from the side of the dam near Bokong.

George van der Merwe, spokesman for the South African project authority for the Lesotho highlands water project, said the chances of their having swum to safety and being out of contact were "very slim".

Names will be released later on Wednesday. The men's families have not yet been informed.

Three survivors, all members a German film crew, were in a stable condition in a Bloemfontein hospital.

They swam out of the wreckage to safety, said Van der Merwe.

Quoting hospital sources on Tuesday night, SABC radio news named the survivors as Jan du Toit and Herman Botha, both South Africans, and Dominique van Eisenhart, a German citizen.

Nearly hit a boat and crew

Van der Merwe said the search was severely hampered by the depth of the water and sheer cliffs surrounding the dam.

South African police divers left Bloemfontein's Bloemspruit air force base at 08:00 on Wednesday. They are trained to reach depths of 100m.

Senior military personnel from the Lesotho defence force and officials from both the LHDA and the Lesotho Highlands Water Commission were also flown to Katse.

Van der Merwe said that when the helicopter crashed, it nearly struck a boat whose crew was taking water samples from the dam.

The survivors were rescued by the boat crew.

They were stabilised at the Katse Clinic, from where they were flown to Bloemfontein by Ambulance Air Africa.

The trio had completed filming above the Katse Dam and were on their way to the Mohale Dam when the accident happened.

Van der Merwe said it was unclear what caused the helicopter to lose altitude. According to witnesses it was flying low over the water.

Refiloe Tlali, acting chief executive of the LHDA, said the accident was a major setback for the organisation.

The missing official was a member of its executive management.

- SAPA