One person is dead and three are in hospital after a plane crash on the southern shore of the Bay of Islands in the Blow Me Down Mountains, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary confirmed on Saturday.
The four people onboard the plane are from Quebec and were working in the area at the time of the crash, the RNC said, noting that the area is not accessible by foot and that the provincial emergency service division was deployed.
A 24-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene, while a 26-year-old man was rushed to hospital for treatment of critical injuries, and two women, ages 28 and 23, are being treated for moderate injuries.
Maj. Trevor Ackland, senior public affairs officer with the Halifax Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, told CBC News on Saturday morning the crash happened around 11:30 a.m. Friday.
“A Cessna 337H Skymaster with four persons on board was seen to descend in the mountains around Corner Brook, Newfoundland. A crash was reported by other aircraft flying in the vicinity,” Ackland said.
The small plane was operated by Quebec-based Sasair, wrote the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) in a news release shortly after 10:30 p.m. Friday night.
Ackland said the plane was contracted by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) at the time.
In a statement Saturday afternoon, DFO told CBC News the team was on a scientific mission to survey marine mammals. They were working at the Maurice-Lamontagne Institute, in Quebec.
Three were employees of DFO — including the woman who died — plus the pilot.
“It is with deep sadness that the department has learned that one employee died as a result of the crash. Two other employees were also injured. Aerial surveillance flights planned for this mission have been suspended,” the statement reads.
“Our thoughts are with these employees, their families, the Quebec Region team and the entire science family.”
The three survivors were transported from the crash site to Deer Lake, and then to Western Regional Memorial Hospital in Corner Brook for medical care.
The 24-year-old woman was transported separately.
Federal Fisheries and Oceans Minister Diane Lebouthillier wrote about the crash on social media.
“Words cannot describe the tragedy that occurred in Newfoundland and Labrador yesterday. As we mourn today the loss of a friend, a colleague, one of us, I would like to offer my deepest condolences to her family and loved ones,” Lebouthillier wrote.
“My thoughts are also with her colleagues injured in the accident, and I wish them a full and speedy recovery.”
JRCC Halifax responded to the incident, along with N.L. Health Services and RNC officers.
Ackland said a CH-149 cormorant helicopter was deployed to the area to deliver search and rescue technicians to the crash site.
The TSB confirmed it is “deploying a team of investigators” to look into what it’s calling an accident.
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Source Agencies
