At least three people perished in a helicopter crash in British Columbia, Canada. The helicopter, carrying a group of skiing enthusiasts, crashed on Monday near Terrace, a town with about 12,000 residents in the Skeena region of central western British Columbia, close to the U.S. state of Alaska, according to a local website.
Separately, the province’s emergency health services reported that four people were injured in the accident. They were treated by paramedics at the scene and transported in critical condition to Mills Memorial Hospital in Terrace.
A spokeswoman for the tourism company stated that they do not know the exact number of passengers and crew on board the helicopter when it crashed, nor if anyone is missing following the accident.
There has been no official news regarding the cause or circumstances surrounding the incident.
Recently, there have been several notable helicopter crashes that took place across several countries. Earlier in January, Three crew members died when their medical helicopter crashed in Oklahoma. The Air Evac Lifeteam crew was returning to Weatherford, Oklahoma, after a patient transport mission to Oklahoma City when the crash occurred near Hydro, Oklahoma.
A Navy MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter crashed into the San Diego Bay. Fortunately, all six crew members survived the incident and were in good condition after medical evaluation. The helicopter was later recovered from the bay, and the Navy is investigating the crash.
Several helicopter crashes involving the U.S. military were reported in early 2023. These included crashes in Alabama, Kentucky, and Alaska, involving Black Hawk or Apache helicopters. These incidents resulted in the deaths of 14 soldiers and injuries to three others. The crashes were all part of training missions and are still under investigation.