Skip to content

UPDATED: 1 dead after helicopter goes down on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast

Pilot, who was the lone occupant, was conducting heli-logging operations when the chopper crashed
26715604_web1_211005-CPW-helicopter-goes-down-Sunshine-Coast-BADGE_1

One person has been killed in a helicopter crash on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast, north of Vancouver.

RCMP say the helicopter crashed around 2 p.m. Monday in an area near Killam Bay, at the entrance to Jervis Inlet, northeast of Sechelt.

Police say in a news release that witnesses in the area were first on the scene and while some of the debris was located, the pilot was not.

The Transportation Safety Board says the pilot, who was the lone occupant on the Kaman KMax helicopter, was conducting heli-logging operations when the chopper crashed into the inlet.

The coast guard, the coroners service and the worker safety agency, WorksafeBC, are all investigating the cause and will attempt to recover the helicopter, though police say that may take some time as the water in the area is believed to be more than 150 metres deep.

The helicopter’s website says the Kaman KMax is used for firefighting, military and defence, and logging because it can lift about 2,700 kilograms, more than its own weight.

—The Canadian Press

RELATED: Six Canadian Forces members killed in helicopter crash honoured at ceremony