Two people died after a plane went down in a remote area near Squamish, B.C., on Friday, authorities have confirmed.
Early Saturday afternoon, the Squamish RCMP said it had not yet been able to access the crash site to confirm any details. Search and rescue crews and the Canadian Forces’ Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria were called in, and the BC Coroners Service was notified.
On Sunday, police said they had travelled to the crash site, located south of Squamish on the west side of Howe Sound.
“Once on scene it was confirmed that sadly, the two occupants of the plane did not survive,” Mounties wrote in a news release.
Police said they are working with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada and the BC Coroners Service to investigate the cause of the crash.
“The RCMP would like to thank Squamish Search and Rescue, Blackcomb Helicopters and several members of the public who were integral in locating and accessing the site of the crash,” the detachment wrote.
Police said they were alerted to the crash Friday evening by an automatic crash notification from a smartphone. Asked about its response, the JRCC told CTV News it was informed of “an overdue private aircraft” shortly before 6:30 p.m.
The JRCC sent a CH-149 Cormorant helicopter and a CC-130 Hercules plane to search for the small aircraft, focusing on Mount Ellesmere and the surrounding area.
Shortly after they were dispatched Friday night, the Cormorant and Hercules returned to base “due to increasingly challenging weather conditions,” the JRCC said, adding that, on Saturday, the RCMP informed it that its resources were no longer needed.
With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Ian Holliday
This is a developing story and will be updated.
