At least 1 dead in plane crash on west coast of Vancouver Island
The wreckage of a Cessna 172 that crashed this weekend on the west coast of Vancouver Island was located Sunday, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) confirmed to CBC affiliate CHEK News.
At least one person died in the crash, according to the B.C. Coroners’ Service.
JRCC said a plane bound for Tofino, B.C., on Saturday did not arrive at its scheduled time. Later on Sunday, Comox RCMP said the plane was headed to Courtenay, B.C.
A rescue crew was dispatched and located the wreckage through the aircraft’s beacon.
They discovered the crash site near Stewardson Inlet, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, on Sunday morning.
The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) confirmed the plane is a Cessna 172, and in a remote location northwest of Tofino that will be difficult to access.
TSB was notified of the crash on Sunday around 10 a.m. PT and is continuing to gather information.
RCMP unable to get to crash scene
Comox RCMP said in a written statement that around 4 p.m. on Saturday, they were made aware a plane had failed to arrive at the Courtenay air park at its scheduled time of 1:30 p.m. They began contacting Vancouver Island airports, but couldn’t find the missing plane.
The statement said RCMP members have not yet been able to get to the scene because of the remoteness of the crash site, which is near Sydney Inlet Provincial Park.
Officials have not yet confirmed how many people were on board.
