Three people have been killed and four others left in critical condition after a helicopter carrying a group of skiers crashed in the Canadian province of British Columbia.
The downed aircraft was one of three helicopters carrying heli-skiers into the rugged backcountry, when it went down at about 4.15pm PT on Monday, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement.
The two other helicopters were able to transport four survivors from the crash site to paramedics who transferred them to hospital in the town of Terrace, 50km away.
The province’s emergency health services dispatched three air ambulances and five ground ambulances to treat the victims in Terrace, all of whom were in critical condition.
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria, the provincial capital, also sent a CH-149 Cormorant helicopter to assist at the crash site.
Premier David Eby called the incident “heartbreaking” in a social media post and said the province was thinking of victims’ families. The identities of the victims have not yet been released.
The crash marks the second fatal helicopter incident in as many weeks, after one went down near the mountain town of Revelstoke, also in BC, killing the pilot.
Heli-skiing is a popular but expensive winter activity in the province, with skiers drawn to the pristine, mountainous backcountry. Packages with the company, Northern Escape Heli-Skiing, start at $5,000 USD and run as high as $92,000. Typically, the biggest risk to skiers is the landscape, with hidden crevasses, rocks and avalanches a looming threat.
“Helicopter accidents are rare but do pose a risk to people who heli-ski in the mountains and backcountry,” the company said in a statement, adding it “takes every precaution to minimize the risks while being in the backcountry … However, similar to many outdoor activities, it’s impossible to eliminate 100% of the risks posed.”
Northern Escape said it was working with the RCMP and other agencies, including the BC coroners service and the transportation safety board, to determine the cause of the crash.
