Italian authorities release video footage showing moment of deadly mid-air crash

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Italian police have released two videos of a crash between a helicopter and a light aircraft above the Alps in January that killed seven people, confirming their initial reconstruction.

The accident took place near the Rutor glacier in the Aosta Valley, a small region in northwestern Italy some 80 km (50 miles) from the city of Turin.

The footage came from two GoPro cameras which had been filming at the time of the accident but survived the impact and were later found after snow melted.

“The plane’s undercarriage smashed into the main rotor of the helicopter,” local police rescue chief Delfino Viglione said in a video published by ANSA news agency, adding it was clear the helicopter had not seen the tourist plane.

The images show the moment of the collision, with scraps and splinters flying in the air. Four Germans, one Belgian, one French national and one Italian died in the crash.