“Despite the fact that not all were state employees, as only one person was a member of the Mountain Rescue Service, all the men risked their lives in order to help others,” said Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák, as quoted by the TASR newswire, adding that this is an act of solidarity.

Kaliňák went on to say that he is hopeful that the outcome of the investigation into the potential causes of the crash will be presented to the general public in the near future.
A rescue crew of the Mountain Rescue Service (HZS) was dispatched to help a 10-year-old boy who fell into a ravine in a popular hiking area called Prielom Hornádu in Slovenský Raj National Park on July 17. HZS asked the Helicopter Health Rescue Service for help and took an HZS paramedic on board. When the helicopter approached the site where the boy was located, the chopper fell approximately 50 metres into a ravine. All four members of the rescue crew – a pilot, a doctor, a paramedic and a member of the Mountain Rescue Service – were killed, TASR reported.