Crash helicopter raised

(First Edition)

A ROYAL Air Force helicoper which crashed into a Snowdonia lake killing three teenage air cadets was lifted to the surface and brought to the lakeside by a salvage team yesterday.

The main fuselage was floated to the surface using air bags after lying in about 30 metres of water at Llyn Padarn, near Llanberis, north Wales.

It still has to be lifted on to a low-loader to be be taken away for further investigation. Engineers were deciding whether the main rotor blades would have to be cut off to make lifting easier. Engineers have already removed the rear cone, including the tail rotor - expected to figure prominently in the investigation.

Four cadets and three crew members were on board the Wessex, from RAF Valley on Anglesey, when it crashed during a training flight last Thursday. The four survivors suffered back and head injuries.