Bodies of singer Rick and four other victims are recovered after helicopter crash in Urubici

This Tuesday (22) afternoon, the bodies of singer Rick and four other people, victims of a helicopter accident in Serra de Santa Catarina, were recovered.

Fog delayed the resumption of aerial searches. Only after 9 am, when it dissipated, did the teams fly over the town of Santa Bárbara, in the municipality of Urubici, in the Serra de Santa Catarina. It is the region where the helicopter emitted the last signal before disappearing.

The task force included firefighters, FAB, Military Police, Civil Defense and volunteers. Around noon, an Air Force aircraft located the wreckage.

“The coordinates were quickly passed on to the teams on the ground as well, who accessed the location and, unfortunately, discovered the deaths of the aircraft's occupants there,” says Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Dallossi, from the Fire Department/SC.

Rescue teams remove the bodies of singer Rick and 4 other people from the forest — Photo: Jornal Nacional/ Reproduction

An area with many mountains, few accesses, with streams and dense vegetation. It was this environment that the rescue teams had to face during the almost 20 hours of search. The wreckage of the helicopter is behind a hill - 2 km ahead, in the middle of the forest. The work then began to remove the bodies by helicopter.

"It is a scenario that made the mission difficult because it is a mountainous terrain, combined with adverse weather conditions. This required very effective planning and coordination on the scene", says Lieutenant Colonel Miguel Lis Bruno, commander of the Pelican Squadron - FAB.

The bodies were taken from Urubici to Florianópolis. The helicopter disappeared around noon on Monday (21), during a flight between Porto Belo, on the North Coast, and São Joaquim, in the Santa Catarina mountains. The crash site, in Urubici, is less than 60 km from the destination. The entire region was covered by low clouds, which reduced visibility - in addition to a lot of rain and intense winds. The relief of the region is mountainous.

Rescue teams remove the bodies of singer Rick and 4 other people from the forest — Photo: Jornal Nacional/ Reproduction

The Aviation Accident Investigation and Prevention Center will investigate the causes of the crash and whether weather conditions contributed to the accident.

On board were singer Rick, from the duo Rick and Renner, businessman Bruno Avelar, cameraman Paulo Soares, pilot Antonio Roberto Nóbrega de Araújo and co-pilot Leopoldo Barros Teixeira. The aircraft was a Bell 430, manufactured in 2001, with capacity for up to seven passengers. According to records from the National Civil Aviation Agency, he had regular registration, valid documentation and authorization to fly both on instruments and at night.

The Civil Police and the Brazilian Air Force reported that they had opened their own investigations to determine the circumstances of the accident.