ABC journalist Paul Lockyer.
GRAVE fears were held early today for an ABC film crew - including veteran reporter Paul Lockyer - after a helicopter crash in outback South Australia.
SA police said they were trying to get to the crash site near Lake Eyre, with unconfirmed reports that three people had been killed.
The ABC confirmed that it had a crew in the area working on a story on Lake Eyre. ''We are deeply worried about that news, but we have no more information,'' said ABC spokesman Michael Millett.
He said ABC staff were notified that a chopper went down about 9pm.
Believed to be on board was Lockyer, regarded as one of the great foreign correspondents in Asia and the US. He was one of the first reporters to cover the Khmer Rouge atrocities in Cambodia.
Also believed on board was veteran ABC pilot Gary Ticehurst and a cameraman.
Source: http://www.theage.com.au
Three people have died in a helicopter crash at Lake Eyre in South Australia's far north. A person at an outpost station reported the helicopter going up in flames on Thursday evening. Police say the helicopter went down about 150 kilometres north-west of Marree. An outback tour operator says four boats have gone to assist at the crash site near the Cooper Creek outlet. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is co-ordinating the response to the crash.
William Creek pilot Trevor Wright said the he believed the helicopter was being used for aerial photography and video and flying near the edge of Lake Eyre when it crashed sometime yesterday before 7.30pm.
An ABC spokesman meanwhile has confirmed there was an ABC crew working in a helicopter in that area.
Mr Wright, who could not confirm who the occupants were, said the crew was planning to land and meet a group of people on the edge of the lake for dinner in the early evening.
The site is 146km north north west of Marree and 142km north east of William Creek, on the eastern side of Lake Eyre.
"When the helicopter didn't turn up they became anxious and sent out a search party on foot, then they found the wreck," Mr Wright said
He said news of the victims had spread around the William Creek community.
"Everyone in the local community knows about it and is distraught it's an aviation community," he said.
Ground patrols and the police helicopter are making their way to the scene.
However, a police spokeswoman said the remote location and weather conditions were making it difficult to reach the site
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