The Navy Chief of Staff, Admiral of Squad Valter Girardelli, expressed his closeness to the family of the non-commissioned officer who lost his life in the flight attendance occurred to the SH 212 helicopter of Nave Borsini engaged in the Mare Sicuro operation.
"On my own behalf and in the name of the whole Navy, I express my deep condolences to the family for the loss of the Head of 1 ° Class Andrea Fazio, to whom I unite the solidarity of the entire Armed Forces to the colleagues of the flight components for the disappearance of the professional and friend ". "I also express great appreciation" added the admiral of Squadra Girardelli "for the promptness of the rescue and the ability to intervene by the crew of Nave Borsini and the other units intervened at the accident site".
The Head of 1 ° Class Andrea Fazio was an experienced and appreciated flight operator of the 2 ° Group helicopters stationed in Catania with a solid professional background and extensive experience on Navy helicopters.
The helicopter fell into the sea a short distance from the Borsini ship during the overnight installation phase at the end of a scheduled training mission, in the "Night Vision Googles" (NVG) set-up, also in favor of two selected shooters of the Marina San Marco Brigade.
As soon as the helicopter was overturned, it flopped on its side; the two pilots and two BMSM operators managed to get out of the helicopter while the Head of 1 ° Class Andrea Fazio was recovered again inside the cockpit by the Borsini ship divers who promptly rushed.
The two pilots and the two riflemen of Marina are in good condition but in shock and are followed by the sanitary of the unit.
At the first light of dawn, eye contact with the helicopter and the floats to which it was secured was lost. The same may have sunk and also due to bad weather conditions that insist on the area. On the site of the incident, other units of the Navy are convened while Nave Borsini heads for the port of Augusta.
Investigations are under way to determine the causes of the accident.