Four people are confirmed to have died in a Friday float plane crash on uninhabited Addenbroke Island, about 100 kilometres north of Port Hardy.
Five survivors were hoisted to a Cormorant helicopter to be taken for treatment in Port Hardy, where B.C. Emergency Health Services paramedics met them for their 6:40 p.m. arrival.
Two people were in critical condition and three were in serious but stable condition.
The crash involving a Seair Seaplanes Cessna 208 Caravan happened about 11 a.m., said navy Lt. Chelsea Dubeau, spokeswoman for the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria.
Nine people were aboard the charter flight heading to Calvert Island, a popular recreational site near Rivers Inlet. The single-engine Caravan has a capacity of up to 14 passengers.
The B.C. Ferries vessel Northern Sea Wolf and a coast guard helicopter were on the scene by early afternoon, and were followed by the Cormorant and a Buffalo aircraft from 19 Wing Comox.
Two coast guard vessels also responded, along with Bella Bella RCMP. Bella Bella is about three-and-a-half hours by boat from Addenbroke Island.
“Weather, we’re told, was raining with low visibility,” Dubeau said.
Seair, which has bases at Vancouver airport, the Vancouver Convention Centre and in Nanaimo, issued a statement after the crash.
“Our thoughts are with those involved in the crash and their loved ones and [we] are devastated by this fatal accident,” the company said. “We are currently working with first responders and authorities and have immediately suspended all flights.”
Premier John Horgan responded to the crash via Twitter.
“Very sad to hear the news out of Addenbroke Island,” he said. “My thoughts are with those affected by this tragic accident. Thank you to the coast guard, B.C. Ferries, medical staff & others on-scene. We’ll continue to closely monitor the situation.”
The Northern Sea Wolf was in the area because its route from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert takes it past the island.
Float plane crashes were prominent in the news in May when there were two fatal incidents in a week in Alaska. The first was a May 13 midair collision that killed six people.
Both planes were carrying cruise-ship passengers on sightseeing excursions.
The second crash was in May 20 when a plane crashed in Metlakatla Harbour during a commuter flight from Ketchikan.
— With a file from The Canadian Press
