Mid Air collision near Ketchikan claims six lives, with 10 injured

Search and Rescue teams have been working through the afternoon and into
the evening near Ketchikan following the collision of two planes
near the Misty Fjords of George Inlet
(click on map to enlarge)

Update: The Alaska State Troopers, Coast and Transportation Officials in Alaska revised the number of victims for Monday's air collision, with six now listed as deceased including one Canadian.

Two float planes operating in the Ketchikan area collided this afternoon in the George Inlet area near Alaska's First City, with the latest update indicating that five people have died, with ten rescued so far, leaving one person unaccounted for.

The planes were providing flight seeing services for the Royal Princess Cruise ship line in the Ketchikan region, which had over 11,000 cruise ship passengers in port on the day.

The incident was reported at 1PM Alaska time, 2 PM in British Columbia.

One of the planes was operated by Taquan Air which had taken passengers into the Misty Fjords on a sightseeing trip, the other plane, which has yet to be identified was also under contract for flight seeing duties with Royal Princess.

US Coast Guard vessels and aircraft along with Alaska State Troopers took the lead in the search for the victims and remain on station to continue the search for the one still outstanding.

The Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue squad is also lending assistance in the ongoing search, as are the three Fire/Rescue services that serve the Greater Ketchikan region.

All of the injured have been taken to Ketchikan Hospital for treatment, the National Transportation Board has dispatched staff to investigate the incident.

Ketchikan radio station KRBD has been filing reports on the incident, as is the Juneau Empire.

For more items related to the work of Emergency responders in the Northwest and Southeast Alaska see our archive page here.

Notes on the cruise industry along the British Columbia and Alaska coast can be explored here.

To return to the most recent blog posting of the day, click here.