Off the wire
• Bolivia President Morales to undergo throat operation in Cuba  • Roundup: Turkey, U.S. vow to boost ties despite Kurdish issue remains  • Chicago agricultural commodities settle lower  • Spotlight: Hollywood welcomes more film co-productions with China  • U.S. stocks rally after GDP report  • S. African Communist Party raises objection to possible cabinet reshuffle  • UN agency uses new route through Sudan to deliver food to South Sudan: spokesman  • S. African Reserve Bank keeps repurchase rate unchanged at 7 pct  • UN relife chief deeply anxious for safety, protection of Syrian civilians  • 1st Ld Writethru: U.S. astronaut breaks female record for most spacewalks  
You are here: 　 Home

Five members of same family killed in helicopter crash in Britain

Xinhua, March 30, 2017 Adjust font size:

Police in North Wales confirmed Thursday night that five people killed in a helicopter crash were all members of the same family.

Mountain rescuers Thursday located the missing helicopter which crashed in the scenic mountain area of Snowdonia in North Wales, with the bodies of five adults at the crash site.

A team from the Air Accident Investigation Bureau arrived at the remote site Thursday to carry out an on-the-spot investigation into what went wrong.

They are studying reports that the thick cloud in the mountain area reduced visibility to as little as 10 meters on Wednesday.

The helicopter was on route from the Midlands region of England to the Irish capital, Dublin, when it disappeared from radar screens on Wednesday.

A sea search was launched to look for any signs of the helicopter in the Irish Sea.

The search came to a tragic end Thursday when wreckage was found in Snowdonia, one of Britain's most scenic areas and a mecca for tourists and hill walkers. Five bodies were found at the scene of the wreckage.

Local media in North Wales and Central England were reporting that the victims were a millionaire businessman and his wife, and three members of his extended family from the Milton Keynes area of England. The BBC was reporting that the victims were flying to Ireland for a family Christening party.

Police Superintendent Gareth Evans of North Wales Police said in a statement Thursday: "Police and Mountain Rescue Teams searching for the missing helicopter in Snowdonia found wreckage and sadly the bodies of five people, all of whom are deceased.

"The exact location is not being revealed at this time to allow a dignified and unhindered recovery of the bodies."

Police said recovery efforts are being hampered due to worsening weather conditions and the difficult and treacherous remote terrain.

The official coroner for northwest Wales Dewi Pritchard-Jones has opened an investigation into the five deaths, North Wales Police said.

The helicopter was a Twin Squirrel, an aircraft popular with police forces and air charter companies. Endit