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NewsWhore
10-12-2006, 03:23 PM
The country experienced a tragic loss yesterday when a helicopter, a Robinson 44, crashed in Cabarete, Puerto Plata, killing all four men on board. The victims of the crash were Delio Gonzalez, a realtor who was promoting investments on the north coast, Butch Kerzner, the son of the owner of Atlantis Hotels in Bahamas, First Lieutenant Kevelier Matos, who was piloting the craft, and co-pilot Emilio Rosario Almonte.
A press release from Kerner International Holdings Limited in The Bahamas, reads that Howard "Butch" Kerzner, CEO of the company was in a helicopter accident while surveying potential development sites for the company in the Dominican Republic. He was on board with one additional passenger and two pilots, and there were no survivors. Sol Kerzner, Chairman and founder of the company and father of Butch Kerzner is en route to the Dominican Republic, after which he will immediately return to the company's headquarters in The Bahamas. Butch Kerner, 42, was appointed CEO in January 2004 and is survived by his wife and two young children.
The President of Helicopteros Dominicanos, SA (Helidosa), George Manuel Hazoury, asked to wait for the results of the technical investigations being carried out by the Civil Aviation Department to determine the cause of an accident of one of the company's helicopters, in which four people died. Hazoury told Clave Digital that people should not jump to conclusions and disagrees with reports that the helicopter had blown up in mid air, since according to him, the bodies showed no sign of burns. Helidosa has been flying helicopters for six years, with a fleet of 13, and Hazoury said that none of their helicopters had ever experienced any problems. Hazoury stated that representatives of the helicopter's insurers would be arriving in the country from London today for their investigation. He said that preliminary information from eyewitnesses indicates that there was bad weather while the helicopter was in flight and there was thunder at the time of the accident. Armed Forces Major General Juan Antonio Campusano Lopez is also reported to be investigating why military officials were making the trip with the private investors.

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