Rescuers stand next to the debris of an helicopter after a midair collision between a small tourist airplane and a helicopter carrying skiers to a glacier in the northwestern region of Val d'Aosta, Friday, Jan 25, 2019. Italian alpine rescue officials say five people have been killed in the crash that took place over the Rutor Glacier. (Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico via AP)
January 26, 2019 - 7:02 AM
ROME - A prosecutor is investigating a flight instructor who survived a midair collision between a small tourist plane and a helicopter in the Italian Alps.
Authorities said the bodies of the last two people from the crash in Italy's Val d'Aosta region were found Saturday, raising the death toll to seven.
The French flight instructor was one of two survivors of Friday's accident over the Rutor glacier. Italian news agency ANSA quoted Aosta Chief Prosecutor Paolo Fortuna saying he was investigating the instructor for alleged manslaughter and had questioned him in a hospital intensive care unit.
ANSA says the instructor reportedly was sitting in the rear of the plane and his students were in front. The students, a Belgian man and a Frenchman, died.
The helicopter was bringing skiers to the glacier.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019