Three people died when a helicopter owned by a mining corporation crashed in southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a source in the security services and a witness said on Tuesday. The helicopter crashed into a ravine several minutes after taking off on Monday in bad weather at a mine at Kambove in Haut-Katanga province. All three onboard — the French pilot, a South African administrator and a Polish executive in charge of security — were killed, the source in the security services said. The helicopter, owned by a cobalt and copper firm called Boss Mining, was scheduled to head to Kolwezi in neighbouring Lualaba province, Francis Lwamba, a company security guard who saw the accident, told AFP.