Officials announced on Friday that no survivors were recovered after a helicopter carrying a pilot and three state workers crashed in a tiny lake in Alaska’s North Slope region. The Alaska Department of Natural Resources chartered the helicopter, according to a statement issued on Friday.
It was transporting three Division of Geological and Geophysical Survey employees who had been conducting field work. “DNR is praying for our employees and the pilot, their families, and the DNR team, We are still waiting for updates from the search and rescue effort.” says a statement.
The Bell 206 helicopter was reported missing Thursday night. A North Slope Borough search and rescue team in a helicopter discovered debris matching the description of the missing helicopter, but no victims had been spotted or retrieved, the borough’s director of government and external relations, D.J. Fauske, said in a text message to The Associated Press on Friday.
The debris was discovered in a tiny lake at Wainwright, approximately 50 miles south to southwest of Utqiagvik, the northernmost city in the United States, formerly known as Barrow. According to Clint Johnson, chief of the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska area, the flight began in Utqiagvik and was scheduled to return there. Johnson stated that he did not have any additional information about the flight at this time. According to a statement on the company’s website, the helicopter was flown by Maritime Helicopters Inc. It acknowledged the crash was fatal and stated that the names of the pilot and passengers would not be revealed until next of kin were notified.
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