Two persons have been declared dead after a Dutch army helicopter crashed into the sea.
The crash happened immeditely after take-off from the Caribbean island of Aruba, the Netherlands defence ministry confirmed on Monday morning.
The chopper was on its way to neighbouring island Curacao on Sunday afternoon when it came down 12 kilometres (seven miles) off the coast of Aruba.
Rob Bauer, head of the Dutch armed forces, speaking at a press conference in The Hague confirmed that two of four people on board died.
“The two other team members are not seriously injured.
“The incident is a terrible news and a shock for everyone,” Bauer added.
Bauer said the cause of the crash has not been determined yet but revealed that a coast guard helicopter and Dutch military divers would try to find the aircraft’s black box.
He, however, added that the investigation and search would be more difficult due to strong winds, currents and large waves.
