​TIMOFTI PROCLAIMS MOURNING FOR ROMANIA CITIZENS WHO PERISHED IN HELICOPTER CRASH IN MOLDOVA

Moldovan President Nicolae Timofti has decreed to declare on Friday a national mourning for the 4 citizens of Romania who died in the crash of the Romanian emergency-medicine helicopter that happened in southern Moldova on Thursday.

In this connection, Moldovan national flags on all official buildings in the country, as well as on Moldovan diplomatic and consular missions abroad, have been dipped today. And at 12.00 hrs, the catastrophe victims’ memory was venerated with a minute of silence.

Regional authorities, the heads of enterprises and organizations have been recommended to cancel entertainment arrangements today.

On Thursday, President Timofti conveyed condolences to the families of the SMURD helicopter crew “who perished while trying to save other people’s lives… This is a grievous moment for citizens living on both Prut River banks and personally for me”.

As already reported by Infotag, in the afternoon of June 2, the helicopter of the Romanian SMURD service was on its way to the southern Moldovan town of Cahul to collect an emergency patient there to deliver him to Chisinau. However, the air vessel suffered a crush in adverse weather conditions, killing its pilot, mechanic and two women – a medical doctor and a paramedic. The Moldovan Prosecutor General’s Office has started a legal action and an investigation into the reasons of the accident.

Infotag’s dossier: SMURD is an emergency rescue service based in Romania. The name is the Romanian acronym for "Serviciul Mobil de Urgenta, Reanimare si Descarcerare", which means Mobile Emergency Service for Resuscitation and Extrication. It was created and has been coordinated since its inception by doctor Raed Arafat. The first SMURD unit was created in Targu Mures, a city in the center of Transylvania, in 1990.