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Written by THE CANADIAN PRESS
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Sunday, 03 August 2008 |
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PORT HARDY, B.C. - Five people have died after a small plane crashed Sunday near Port Hardy, on northern Vancouver Island.
Two men survived the crash aboard the twin engine aircraft. They were rescued hours after search teams received text messages one of the survivors sent to a friend with the whereabouts of the crash site.
Lt.-Cmdr. Gerry Pash of the Victoria Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre said one was in good condition while the other was injured.
The two survivors were being flown to the town of Comox, B.C., where they were to be met by a heli-ambulance.
Authorities did not release the names of the victims saying they were notifying their next of kin .
Spencer Smith with Pacific Coastal Airlines said details on the crash were unclear.
"As far as what happened, we can't say, we have no idea at this point why," he said. "Obviously that will come in due course."
The amphibious plane left Port Hardy on route to Chamiss Bay Sunday morning just after 7 a.m. The airline said they did some initial searching and then reported the plane missing at around 10 a.m.
A Buffalo search plane and a Cormorant helicopter were sent on the rescue mission.
One of the passengers was text messaging a friend about the whereabouts of where the plane went down. The friend then relayed the information to rescue crews, but it took several hours for them to find the site of the crash.
Authorities said the plane went down on a hillside dense with foliage, making it difficult to locate the crash site.
In one text message to his friend, the survivor said he was on a mountain and could see the rescue aircraft but they were unable to find him.
Pash said the survivor's cellphone could be credited for bringing the rescue crews to the crash location.
"It was less efficient than having the plane's electronic transmission locator working but more efficient than not having any information," he said. "This is one of those searches that could have gone on for days had we not had the cellphone's stuff."
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the province, two people were injured, one of them seriously, in another plane crash near Pitt Meadows Airport, east of Vancouver. The plane, made a wheels-up landing in a blueberry field. The other six people on board suffered only minor injuries.
(By Eliana Lev in Vancouver)
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 03 August 2008 )
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