San Juan helicopter crash kills seven officials FAST-MOVING
On July 29, 2026 a Bell 412 helicopter contracted by Argentina’s Federal Emergency Agency (AFE) crashed in the Parque Provincial Ischigualasto, Valle Fértil, San Juan province, while on a training mission for wildfire fighting before heading to La Rioja. All seven people on board died. The victims were senior provincial security and emergency officials: Comisario General Rubén Castro, chief of the fire service; Comisario Inspector Jorge Carbajal, deputy fire chief; Carlos Heredia, director of Civil Protection; Comisario General Germán Videla, deputy police chief; pilot Matías Valenzuela; and AFE brigadists Andrés Bosch and Rodrigo Aimeta. Governor Marcelo Orrego confirmed the deaths, expressed condolences and activated a crisis committee to assist families. Emergency services located the aircraft after its last contact at 10:26 a.m.; it was found about 20 metres below ground level with three bodies visible from the air. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Entities: Agencia Nacional de Lucha contra el Fuego · Andrés Bosch · Bell 412 helicopter · Federal Emergency Agency (AFE) · Governor Marcelo Orrego · Ischigualasto Provincial Park · Rubén Castro · San Juan Province (Argentina) · Secretaría de Estado de Seguridad y Orden Público · Valle Fértil
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 3 SOURCES] A helicopter crashed in Valle Fértil during a forest‑fire combat training exercise.