(UPDATE: Jan. 31 @ 5:05 am): The pilot of the helicopter that crashed north of Terrace last week has been named.
Mark McGowan died alongside three other people when the aircraft went down on Jan. 22, according to a statement released to Canadian Press by Northern Escape Heli-Skiing and Skyline Helicopters.
Guide Lewis Ainsworth also died, alongside two Italians.
An Italian news agency previously reported that three Italians had died in the crash, but this has now been confirmed to be incorrect.
Media in Italy now say Heiner Junior Oberrauch, 29, and Andreas Widman, 35, died in the incident.
(UPDATE: Jan. 29 @ 9:45 am): Another victim of the heli-skiing crash near Terrace has been identified.
Lewis Ainsworth, the president of the New Zealand Mountain Guides Association, was on board the helicopter working as a guide for Northern Escape Heli-Ski.
He was 35 years old, according to the group, and had a 10-year-old daughter.
The Jan. 22 crash also killed three Italians.
In a post on social media, New Zealand Mountain Guides Association said Ainsworth's family and friends are "heartbroken" by his death.
"Lewis is a highly respected member of the New Zealand and international mountaineering and skiing community," the post reads.
"He is loved by many and will be dearly missed by all those who have been fortunate enough to know Lewis and have shared in his passion for being in the mountains."
The news comes as the BC RCMP announced this morning it had recovered the remains of the victims of the crash, which occurred about 50 kilometres north of Terrace.
“Poor weather and visibility conditions severely impacted efforts to safely return to the crash site over several days,” said S/Sgt. Kris Clark.
“Thanks to the hard work and determination of the Terrace Search and Rescue, the bodies of those who tragically died have now been recovered.”
There were seven people on the helicopter, police said.
The three other occupants are in a stable condition.
Investigations into the crash are now being conducted by the BC Coroners Service, Transportation Safety Board and WorkSafe BC.
(Original story: Jan. 29 @ 6:20 am): The bodies of three people killed in a heli-skiing crash north of Terrace last Monday have been recovered, the head of the guiding company said.
A statement from John Forrest, president of Northern Escape Heli-Skiing, said the RCMP along with Terrace Search and Rescue led the effort on Sunday.
The victims of the Jan. 22 crash have been identified as three Italians.
Terrace Search and Rescue manager Dave Jephson also said last week that poor weather had been hampering efforts to recover the victims' bodies.
In his statement on Sunday, Forrest said he knows how important it has been for their families to have their loved ones recovered from the mountain.
The days after the crash "have been filled with grief," he added.
"My heart continues to go out to all those impacted and their loved ones."
Police have said another four people were badly injured in the crash.
One of the passengers had used a radio to notify the heli-skiing company of the crash, and crews with two other choppers in the same backcountry area joined in in the rescue effort, Forrest told a news conference last week.
The four survivors were taken to a local hospital before being transported elsewhere in BC for higher levels of care, he said.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has confirmed it deployed a team of investigators to the site of the crash.
The downed helicopter was part of Kelowna-based Skyline Helicopters' fleet.
A statement last week from that company's president, Teri Northcott, said the crash had caused "profound grief."
Skyline will "provide support in any way that it can," the statement said.
The company "will also work closely with the RCMP and other authorities as the cause of the incident is investigated," it said.
– With files from Canadian Press
