Top Lensman Dies in Helicopter Crash

Top Lensman Dies in Helicopter Crash

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Celebrated aerial photographer Zhao Qunli died on Sunday after his plane crashed in Yongjia County in East China's Zhejiang Province.

Zhao was flying over a group of ancient villages in Yongjia County when he crashed at the site around two hours' drive from Wenzhou proper.

The deputy director of Hong Kong Phoenix TV Chinese Channel was filming for the TV series "Seeking the Lost Homeland.''

Police said the mini-helicopter ran into three high-voltage wires crossing a valley and crashed into a pool in the village of Daxue in Yongjia County.

"I saw a small plane roaring over my house and heading for the village of Linkeng at about 11 am. I heard a loud bang overhead later,'' Dai Jiasong, a Daxue villager, said.

"When the other four villagers and I rushed to the spot on motorcycles and pulled the pilot out of the plane, we found him dead.''

~~A 50-member rescue team headed by local officials arrived at the scene shortly afterwards. The corpse and the remains of the plane were taken to Wenzhou.

The film crew for the TV series arrived in Yongjia County on Saturday. Jiang Xiaoling, Zhao's wife, is a member of the crew.

Zhao, born in 1950, was on his first filming trip to the ancient villages of Yongjia County and the Nanxi River.