UPDATE 1-Helicopter crash on Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro kills five, aviation authority says

A helicopter crashed on Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro, killing five ⁠people, the civil aviation authority said on Thursday, while local media reported that the aircraft was on ​a medical rescue mission. Those killed were identified ‍as a guide and a doctor - both Tanzanians - the Zimbabwean pilot and two tourists from the Czech Republic, the ⁠Tanzania ‌National ⁠Parks said in a statement.

A helicopter crashed on Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro, killing five ⁠people, the civil aviation authority said on Thursday, while local media reported that the aircraft was on ​a medical rescue mission.

Those killed were identified ‍as a guide and a doctor - both Tanzanians - the Zimbabwean pilot and two tourists from the Czech Republic, the ⁠Tanzania ‌National ⁠Parks said in a statement. The helicopter crashed near the ‍mountain's Barafu Camp on Wednesday, Tanzania's Civil Aviation Authority ​said in a statement.

The Mwananchi newspaper and East ⁠Africa TV, citing Kilimanjaro region's head of police, reported ⁠that the helicopter was on a medical rescue mission. Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak, is ⁠nearly 6,000 metres (20,000 ft) above sea level. The crash happened between ⁠4,670 ‌and 4,700 metres, Mwananchi reported.

Around 50,000 tourists climb Kilimanjaro annually. (Writing by George ⁠Obulutsa; Editing by Saad Sayeed ‍and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

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