Three hurt as door falls from RAF helicopter

Three spectators were treated for injuries after the door of an RAF helicopter fell off during an air show and fell into a crowd standing on a beach.

The accident occurred at the Salthill air show, near Galway in the west of Ireland. The victims were a Polish man and an Irish man and woman. They were later discharged from hospital.



More than 80,000 people were watching late on Sunday afternoon as the RAF Merlin HC3 climbed to 150 feet when a door panel dropped away.



Liam McBurney, a photographer who was taking pictures, said that panic erupted as spectators scattered. "The door fell off and was just like a piece of paper floating in the wind," he said. "It floated over the promenade and crashed into the beach, bouncing five to 10 feet into the air and landing again."

The helicopter is based at 28 Squadron, RAF Benson, in Oxfordshire. The Ministry of Defence and the Irish aviation authority have launched investigations. "We regret any injuries that were caused and an inquiry will take place to establish what happened," said an MoD spokeswoman.