Newlyweds die in copter crash

Rescue workers today began work to recover the bodies of two Britons killed in a helicopter crash on the Costa del Sol hours after their wedding.

The bodies were left in the wreckage with that of the Spanish pilot after it crashed in mountains just inland from the coast yesterday.

The couple, not expected to be identified until later today, had hired the helicopter to fly them from Nerja, east of Malaga, after their civil wedding ceremony, to take them to a reception on the other side of the city at the popular resort of Mijas. The helicopter crashed just before 3pm local time, just a few miles from Marbella.

Authorities said a strong wind was blowing at the time. The only survivor of the crash was the helicopter's co-pilot who is being treated in hospital.

Wedding guests, many of whom had flown from Britain for the reception, became worried when the couple did not arrive as scheduled. Rescuers found the wreckage, the injured co-pilot, and the three dead victims but were unable to extract the bodies before nightfall.

Local mayor Salvador Osorio said he believed that a mechanical fault was to blame and that the pilot had contacted emergency services.

Fireman Perez Gose, from Istan fire station, said: "I don't think the pilot lost control, it was probably the wind that blew them off course. It's a terrible tragedy."

The Foreign Office confirmed that two Britons had died but would not release their identities until they had contacted relatives.