Two victims of Isle of Wight helicopter crash named

Two of the three people killed in a helicopter crash on the Isle of Wight have been named.

Emergency services were called to the site of the crash, which took place during a flying lesson, near the A3020 Shanklin Road, at 9.24am on Monday morning.

By the evening, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary confirmed that four people in total were onboard the helicopter, three of whom had died, and one person who had been taken to hospital in a serious condition.

Justyna Czoska and Wojtek Kowalkowski, from Bloxham, Oxfordshire, were passengers on the helicopter and died in the crash, family members have said.

In a Facebook post, Justyna's daughter, Julia Buzar, said: "I have no words. The world took my mum too soon, she was the best mum you could ask for, loved by everyone. I never thought I'd be writing something like this.

"Please, if anyone could help bring them back to Poland so they can be with their families, it would mean the world to me. Rest in peace, mum and Wojtek."

In a post on fundraising site GoFundMe, Julia's partner, Jacob Butler, wrote that the "sudden and devastating event has left all of us heartbroken and struggling to cope with the loss".

The appeal is aimed at raising sufficient funds to "bring them both back to Poland so they can be laid to rest with their families, in the place they called home".

Whatever is raised will help cover the cost of "repatriation, funeral arrangements and travel," the message said. By Tuesday afternoon, pledges had reached more than £3,000.

Darren Toogood, editor and publisher at the Island Echo, told Sky News presenter Kamali Melbourne the Robinson R44 II helicopter crashed on a "significantly busy, high-speed road" between the village of Godshill and the seaside town of Shanklin.

"It was on one of the first flights of the day," he said.

"It's an incredibly busy area."

The Air Accident Investigation Branch is looking into the causes of the crash.

A spokesman for Northumbria Helicopters said that its aircraft G-OCLV - which is listed as a Robinson R44 II helicopter - was involved in the accident during a flying lesson and was carrying four passengers.

It set out from Sandown Airport at approximately 9am, the company said.

Witness Leigh Goldsmith told the Isle of Wight County Press she was driving towards Shanklin when she saw the helicopter "spiralling" before it went out of sight and came down in a hedge.

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Emergency services said that four people were onboard, with one of those taken by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance in a serious condition to the Major Trauma Centre, University Hospital Southampton.

Local fire crews also attended.

Joe Robertson, Conservative MP for Isle of Wight East, told Times Radio the incident was "heartbreaking", saying what should have been a fun morning out turned to "tragedy".

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