UPDATE: Besides Mike Charles, who was piloting the helicopter, the other six (6) persons onboard are Michael Shahaud, Gary Beaton, Shawn Welcome, Jason Khan, Andio Crawford, and Dwayne Johnson. The Army Chief stated that these men are “among our best.” The servicemen on the aircraft were heading to visit Guyanese troops near the Venezuelan border. The aircraft had landed at Olive Creek to refuel and shortly after takeoff, signal with the chopper was lost.
The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) announced today (Wednesday 6th December 2023) that a search and rescue operation has been initiated in order to locate a missing helicopter, carrying three (3) crew members and four (4) passengers.
In a brief statement, the GDF said that the operation is “impacted by adverse weather conditions” and that the Bell 412 Helicopter (8R-AYA) had departed Base Camp Ayanganna at 9:23 AM (local time). “The aircraft transmitted an Emergency Locator Transmitter signal at 11:20 hours, from coordinates approximately thirty (30) miles East of Arau on our Western borders.” The statement added that “further information will be provided as soon as they are made available.” According to media reports, the helicopter had gone missing in the Essequibo county region, and it was being piloted by veteran army pilot, Mike Charles. The helicopter is reported to have been shuttling from Ekereku to Olive Creek in Essequibo county, and that a search and rescue team aboard a SkyVan has been deployed to the area.
Venezuela has been claiming the Essequibo county region in Guyana belongs to it, with President Nicolas Maduro announcing on Tuesday (5th December 2023) that a bill would be sent to the National Assembly for the creation of a “Guyana Esequiba” province, in a region Guyana has administered for over a century.
Maduro gave an ultimatum to oil companies working under concessions given by Guyana to withdraw their operations within three (3) months.
According to Reuters, tensions between neighbors Venezuela and Guyana have ratcheted up in recent weeks over a long-running territorial dispute. At issue is a 160,000-square-km (62,000-square-mile) border territory around the Esequibo river, which is mostly jungle, and an offshore area where massive discoveries of oil and gas have been made.
Both countries claim ownership of the territory, which is sparsely populated and whose much-disputed border was agreed under a 1899 decision when Guyana was still part of the British Empire. Venezuela reactivated its claim to the territory in recent years after the finding of some 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil and gas off Guyana's coast. More on this as it becomes available. This is a developing story - refresh this page for updates. [Source: CNC3] We are a small operation. If you've found our articles to be informative, please consider supporting us via PayPal or buying us a coffee. Your contribution is incredibly appreciated and goes a long way. Simply sharing our articles also helps us. Sign up for our free WhatsApp Alerts to be notified as soon as we post breaking news. NEW! Check out our Merchandise Store for high-quality t-shirts, hats and more!
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