Two SAK employees killed in helicopter accident

Two SAK employees died on Wednesday in a helicopter accident close to the Estonian capital of Tallinn. The victims were SAK's deputy director Ari Seger, 51, and the trade union officer Pentti Vainio, 59. Another victim of the crash, the Finnish Centre for Occupational Safety&#;8217s managing director Matti Kopperi, 61, was also a former long-time SAK employee.

Kopperi had transferred to the Centre for Occupational Safety in 2000 from his position of deputy director at SAK. Seger was supposed to take his place as managing director on October 1st.

Seger and Vainio were in Tallinn to participate in a planning conference of the Centre for Occupational Safety’s management from August 9th to 10th. The group consisted of a total of five members, all of whom died in the crash. Originally, the group was supposed to return to Helsinki by ferry, but this was not possible due to strong winds. The trip from Tallinn to Helsinki takes 18 minutes by helicopter, 1.5 hours by high-speed ferry, and three hours on larger boats.

A total of 12 passengers and two crew members died in the accident, which occurred on Wednesday shortly after noon. The cause of the accident is so far unknown.