Three dead in the garden of ex-Schalke sponsor after helicopter crash

Three people died in a helicopter crash in Italy. According to image information, the helicopter fell on the property of a family, whose company used to be a Bundesliga club Schalke 04 has sponsored.

As Italian media report, the helicopter crashed from heaven on Wednesday at 7:20 p.m. The machine hit a property that belongs to the Castello di Castelguelfo. The property is located in the Emilia-Romagna region, less than ten kilometers west of Parma.

The 12th century castle is owned by the Rovagnati family. The company of the same name produces sausage goods on a large scale and had sales of more than 310 million euros in 2023. From 2016 to 2018 Sponsorte Rovagnati, according to Schalke homepage, the current second division club.

Lorenzo Rovagnati († 41), the heir to the sausage empire, is also said to be among the victims. The other two deaths are apparently pilots. After previously unconfirmed information, the helicopter had tried to start shortly before. Nothing is known about the cause of the accident. Italian media report that densely fog has been hung up all day.

The machine is said to be an Agustawestland A109. The National Agency of Air Security has announced an investigation. The Parma public prosecutor has already secured the flight writer. According to the broadcaster Rai, it is determined whether a pilot error or a technical defect on the rear red is responsible for the crash.

Lorenzo Rovagnati had the approximately 400 employees strong as managing director. Almost every Wednesday, the manager is said to have flown from nearby Milan to the Castello di Castelfoelfo. The 41-year-old leaves two children and a pregnant woman. The mayor of Noceto, Fabio Fecci, spoke of a “terrible tragedy”.