MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – As authorities continued searching in a rural Miami-Dade canal Thursday for the wreckage of Wednesday’s deadly helicopter crash, police identified the victims as a father and daughter.
A spokesperson for the Miami-Dade Police Department said Clement Zanzuri, 71, was killed and his daughter, Jordan Ann Zanzuri, 27, was hurt but survived when the Hughes 369 chopper crashed into the canal, located near the 18400 block of Southwest 122nd Street, just before 1 p.m. Wednesday.
Rescuers had to pull the pair from the water and the elder Zanzuri was still submerged when they pulled his daughter from the canal, police said. Medics rushed both to Jackson South Medical Center, but Clement Zanzuri died despite efforts to resuscitate him.
Police later confirmed that Clement Zanzuri was piloting the chopper.
Local 10 News obtained the 911 calls that were made by people who live near the crash site.
911 Caller: “There’s a helicopter that fell and people aren’t turning up, they’re likely in the water.”
Multiple people called into 911 to report a plane spinning out of control before it crashed into a canal.
The Zanzuri’s were flying from the Fort Myers area to Miami Executive Airport when the helicopter crashed about four miles from its intended destination.
A Local 10 News crew returned to the crash area Thursday where crews were removing the wreckage from the water.
Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration said they were looking into the cause of the crash; police said witnesses reported what appeared to be the helicopter “spinning and falling” moments before. Miami-Dade police homicide detectives are investigating Clement Zanzuri’s death.
Investigators said they were expected to speak with Jordan Zanzuri, who was recovering from her injuries, in hopes of determining what went wrong.
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