© AFPThis picture taken on Dec. 9, 2020, shows houses and a church under snow at the entrance of Bonvillard, France, where a helicopter crash left five dead with only the pilot surviving but badly wounded.
The Eurocopter EC135 was flying at an altitude of about 5,900 feet when it came down near the town of Bonvillard, about 10 miles from Albertville in the Savoie area of the French Alps, according to a government news release.
Local authorities said weather conditions were particularly bad at the time, the Associated Press reported. It was overcast with low cloud ceilings and some snow was falling in the area Tuesday night, according to weather.com meteorologists.
Six people were on board, including the pilot, a pilot in training, two rescue personnel and two winch operators, according to the BBC.
One of the pilots survived the crash and called for rescue at about 7:10 p.m. local time, the news release said.
Three helicopters and more than 40 emergency personnel were sent to the scene but fog hampered their efforts. Rescuers reached the crash scene at about 9:15 p.m. and found the pilot, who sustained serious injuries and was taken to a hospital.
The crashed aircraft is owned by a private company that conducts search-and-rescue missions and provides other air services, the BBC said.
French President Emmanuel Macron said two of the victims were members of the police force and three were search-and-rescue personnel.
"To save lives, they take all the risks," Macron tweeted.
All five served as mountain rescue personnel and were on a training mission, according to the AP.
A winter storm brought heavy snowfall to parts of the Alps over the weekend, but the worst of the weather was in Austria and Italy. Several avalanches were reported across the region, including one that killed a 23-year-old skier in Switzerland.
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