At least three people are dead and four in a critical condition following a helicopter crash in mountains on the BC/Alaska border in Western Canada.
The helicopter, operated by Northern Escape Heli-Skiing, was reported to have been carrying six heliskiers along with the pilot and a guide.
"The guests who ski with us and the staff who work with us each season are part of our family," John Forrest, president and general manager of Northern Escape Heli-Skiing said in a statement, which continued, "It is impossible to put into words the profound grief that we feel and the sorrow that our guests and our staff share. We hope you will respect the privacy of those impacted at this extremely difficult time."
There have been a number of helicopter crashes and avalanche fatalities for heliskiers in recent years.
One of the most high profile saw five die in a crash in the Chugach Mountains of Alaska, including the then richest man in the Czech Republic, billionaire Petr Kellner, in 2021.
Among other events, three German heliskiers were killed in an avalanche near Panorama in BC in March last year, and two Americans in another near Revelstoke, also BC, last January. The winter before a heliski guide died in an avalanche he triggered while scouting a route for a group of heliskiers in Alaska.