A Royal Gendarmerie pilot was killed Thursday after a light aircraft crashed while assisting efforts to contain a wildfire in the Maâmora Forest in Morocco’s Skhirate-Témara prefecture, according to a source familiar with the incident.
The source told Hespress that the aircraft, registration CN-AZV, belonged to the Royal Gendarmerie and not the Civil Protection service, contradicting information that had circulated earlier.
The pilot, who was a member of the Royal Gendarmerie, died in the crash, the source said.
According to the source, the wildfire broke out at approximately 5:10 p.m., prompting firefighting operations in the area. The aircraft is believed to have crashed around 5:30 p.m. while participating in the response.
The source said the aircraft was conducting an aerial reconnaissance mission to support firefighting efforts, dismissing reports that it was operating as a water-bombing aircraft at the time of the crash.
The CN-AZV is a turboprop version of the Air Tractor agricultural aircraft adapted for forest firefighting operations and is operated by the Royal Gendarmerie.
The source said the wildfire burned approximately three hectares of the Maâmora Forest.
The National Agency for Water and Forests (ANEF) had not released detailed information about the crash by the time of publication.
Videos and photographs shared by residents of Témara on social media appeared to show the aircraft crashing near the wildfire zone. Authorities have not yet announced the cause of the crash.
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