The President visits victims of the plane crash.

On the afternoon of July 7th, President Truong Tan Sang and Hanoi Party Secretary Pham Quang Nghi personally visited the Le Huu Trac National Burn Institute to see the soldiers who were injured in the plane crash and to offer condolences to their families.

President Truong Tan Sang and Hanoi Party Secretary Pham Quang Nghi visited the Burn Institute to see the victims of the plane crash. Photo: giaothongvantai.

Reporting to the President and the Secretary of the Hanoi City Party Committee, National Burn Institute leader Le Huu Trac stated that they are making every effort to treat the victims.

All five people admitted to the institute suffered burns covering more than 50% of their bodies. Some were unrecognizable to the naked eye.

By the end of the day, representatives from the Burn Institute stated that there had been no further fatalities. All efforts remain focused on saving the lives of the firefighters.

Earlier, at 7:53 a.m. on July 7th, while conducting parachute training flights in the Hoa Lac airport area, Mi 171 helicopter number 01 of the 916th Air Regiment, 371st Air Division, experienced engine fire and crashed in Hamlet 11, Thach Hoa Commune, Thach That District, Hanoi.

There were 21 people on board when the plane crashed. The accident resulted in 16 deaths and 5 injuries.

Immediately after the accident occurred, the General Staff dispatched Lieutenant General Vo Van Tuan, Deputy Chief of the General Staff, along with the Commander and Political Commissar of the Air Defense and Air Force Command; a task force from the Rescue and Relief Department; and several related agencies to the scene to directly command rescue and relief operations and mitigate the consequences.

Many residents at the scene confirmed that the plane caught fire in mid-air right over a densely populated residential area, but the pilot managed to steer the plane towards an open field to prevent it from crashing into residential houses, thus avoiding significant casualties among the people.

According to chinhphu.vn