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CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — A Romanian medical helicopter crashed in southern Moldova on Thursday, killing all four people on board, authorities said.
The helicopter crashed in foggy, rainy weather on the edge of the village of Haragas, said Iurie Balanuta, mayor of the Moldovan village.
A spokesman for Romania's SMURD emergency service, Gheorghe Hanganu, said the helicopter had transported an elderly woman from the area to a hospital in the Moldovan capital of Chisinau and was flying back to pick up another patient.
Moldovan Deputy Health Minister Oleg Craciun identified the dead as the pilot, co-pilot, a doctor and a medical assistant, all from Romania. Their names have not been released pending notification of their families.
The Interior Ministry said the helicopter, which Romania bought in 2014, had flown 20 medical missions in Moldova. An investigation is underway into the crash.
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