British tourist killed after being struck by helicopter blade in Greece

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A British tourist who may have been trying to take a selfie was killed by a helicopter’s spinning rotor blade in Greece.

Greek authorities confirmed an investigation was launched into whether Jack Fenton, 22, was attempting to take a photo when his head came into contact with the helicopter’s rear blade.

“We are examining every eventuality, including the possibility of the boy going there to take a selfie in the excitement of the moment,” a police source told the U.K. Sun.

Fenton and three friends had disembarked the hired chopper, travelling from Mykonos, when he was struck by the rotor in the town of Spata, about 20 kilometres east of downtown Athens.

The pilot, said to be “deeply traumatized” by the tragedy in which Fenton reportedly “suffered horrific head injuries,” and his mates could only look on helplessly.

Authorities said the group, including Fenton, were led away from the helicopter but Fenton quickly returned to it while on his phone despite ground crew shouting at him to stop.

Jack Stanton-Gleaves, a friend of Fenton’s who was also in the chopper, however, insisted that isn’t how the events played out.

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“No instructions were given when exiting the helicopter and no one escorted us to the lounge,” Stanton-Gleaves told the paper.

“All they did was open the doors for us,” he explained. “We disembarked on our own and no one stopped Jack from going to the rear of the helicopter. None of us reached the lounge before the accident happened.”

He added: “I’ve heard people say Jack was on his phone and ran back to the helicopter and this is totally untrue. He was not on his phone and why he turned towards the rear of the helicopter, I don’t know.”

The pilot and two ground technicians were arrested but later released by police. They could face negligence or manslaughter charges if they told the passengers to exit the helicopter when it was unsafe to do so.

“We want to see if the pilot informed the passengers to get off the helicopter,” Giorgos Kalliakmanis, the head of the Greek police union, said, explaining that the propellers run for two minutes after the engine is turned off unless a specific button is pushed.

“The helicopter door has no security, anyone who wants to open the door and get out,” he said. “The preliminary investigation will look at whether the pilot informed them to get out when the propeller and engines stopped.”