Doug Donaldson offers condolences to victims of Saturdays aircraft crash near Smithers

With more details now released in relation to Saturday's tragic helicopter crash near Smithers, Doug Donaldson the Minister of Forests, Lands Natural Resource Operations and Rural development has issued a statement of condolence to the families of those who perished and the sole survivor of the weekend incident.

The flight which was transporting a crew contracted to the BC Wildfire Service was conducting an infrared scan of some of the areas damaged in the 2018 wildfires,  it was reported in distress shortly after 8:30AM.

As we noted on Saturday, two air crews from CFB Comox were dispatched to join a private helicopter in Smithers in the search.

The crash shite was discovered shortly before 11 AM after which rescue personnel  determined that three of the four on board had not survived. The fourth, one of the contractors aboard was med-evaced out of the region and is now in a Vancouver area hospital, he is expected to recover.

The location of the incident was to the Northeast of Smithers landing.

In his statement today Mr. Donaldson offered his condolences and noted the state of the investigation at the moment.

“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of everyone involved in this incident. On behalf of all British Columbians, I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of the three people who did not survive. 

The Transportation Safety Board, the BC Coroners Service and the RCMP are investigating this incident to determine the circumstances that led to the crash. The BC Wildfire Service is providing all possible assistance to the investigators.”

Over the weekend it was reported out of Smithers that one of the those who died in relation to the crash was Lorne Borgal a former president and CEO of Hudson Bay Mountain Resort, the Facebook page for the Bulkley Valley ski resort notes that they are collecting memories and condolences through their downtown office in Smithers.

Yesterday, both the RCMP, the Transportation Safety Board and the Coroners Office released statements related to the Saturday incident, you can review those notes from our original post on the story.

For further updates on the crash and ongoing investigation see our archive page that tracks the work of Emergency Responders of the Northwest.

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