A tragic incident occurred in the Canadian province of British Columbia where a helicopter transporting a group of skiers crashed, resulting in three fatalities and four individuals being in critical condition.
According to a statement from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, one of three helicopters transporting heli-skiers into the rough backcountry crashed at approximately 4:15pm PT on Monday.
The two remaining helicopters successfully transported four survivors from the crash location to paramedics, who then took them to a hospital in Terrace, located 50km away.
Three air ambulances and five ground ambulances were sent by the province’s emergency health services to provide medical care for the critically injured victims in Terrace.
The CH-149 Cormorant helicopter was dispatched from the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria, the capital of the province, to provide assistance at the location of the crash.
The incident, according to Premier David Eby, was described as “heartbreaking” in a post on social media. He also mentioned that the province is keeping the families of the victims in their thoughts. The identities of those who were affected have not been made public yet.
This is the second fatal helicopter accident in the last two weeks, following a previous incident near Revelstoke, a town in British Columbia, which resulted in the death of 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.
According to the company, helicopter crashes are infrequent but still present a danger to individuals participating in heli-skiing in mountainous and remote areas. The company assures that they take all necessary steps to reduce these risks, but like with most outdoor pursuits, it is impossible to completely eliminate all potential risks.
Northern Escape stated that they were collaborating with the RCMP and other organizations, such as the BC coroners service and the transportation safety board, to investigate the reason for the accident.
Source: theguardian.com
