Juneau, Alaska – Only a few hours after finding 10 people dead in western Alaska de one of the most mortal The plane crashes in the state in 25 years, the authorities ran to recover their remains and the remains of the small nearby plane from unstable sea ice before strong winds and the expected snow.
“The conditions are dynamic, so we have to do it safely in the fastest way we can,” Jim West, head of the Nome Volunteer Fire Department, said on Friday.
The turbopropulsor plane of a single Bering Air engine traveled from Unlakleet to the Hub community in Nome when it disappeared on Thursday afternoon. He found himself the next day after an extensive search with the nine passengers and the dead pilot.
While the community tried to process the deadly event, the teams quickly worked on unstable and muddy sea to recover the bodies and remains less than a day before bad weather was expected. The authorities said a Black Hawk helicopter would be used to move the plane once the bodies were removed.
Among those killed in the accident were Rhone Baumgartner and Kameron Hartvigson. They had traveled to Unlakleet to attend a vital heat recovery system for the community of the community, according to the Native Tribal Health Consortium of Alaska.
“These two members of our team lost their lives serving others,” David Beveridge, Vice President of Environmental Health AND Engineering for the organization, he said in a statement. “The loss of these two incredible people and everyone else aboard the plane will feel in all Alaska.”
The names of other people have not been released.
The 10 people aboard the plane were adults, and the flight was a regularly scheduled voyage trip, according to Lieutenant Ben Endres of the soldiers of the state of Alaska.
A photo provided by the Coast Guard showed the body and the splintered debris of the plane in the sea ice. Two people with bright colored emergency equipment surrounded the remains.
“It is difficult to accept the reality of our loss,” said American senator Lisa Murkowski during a night press conference.
The mayor of Nome, John Handeland, choked as he argued the deaths and the response effort.
“Nome is a strong community, and at challenging times we join and we support each other. I hope that the large amount of support will continue in the next few days while we all work to recover from this tragic incident, ”said Handeland.
Cessna’s caravan left Unalakleet at 2:37 PM on Thursday, and officials lost contact less than an hour later, according to David Olson, Bering Air operations director. There was light snow and fog, with a temperature of 17 degrees (minus 8.3 Celsius), according to the National Meteorological Service.
The Coast Guard said the plane disappeared at about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Nome.
Radar forensic data provided by the US Civil Air Patrol “, The Lieutenant of the Coast Guard. Benjamin McIntyre-Coble said. “What is that event, I can’t speculate.”
McIntyre-Cobble said he was not aware of the plane’s anguish signs. Airplanes carry an emergency location transmitter. If exposed to seawater, the device sends a signal to a satellite, which then transmits that message to the Coast Guard to indicate that a plane can be in danger. The Coast Guard did not receive such messages, he said.
The rescuers were looking in the last known place of the helicopter aircraft when the remains were detected, said Mike Salerno, spokesman for the United States Coast Guard. Two rescue swimmers were reduced to investigate.
Local, state and federal agencies had helped in the search effort, combing stretches of pointed waters with ice and touring miles of frozen tundra.
The National Transportation Board was sending nine people to the scene from several states.
The flight is an essential mode of transport in Alaska due to the immensity of the landscape and limited infrastructure. Most communities are not connected to the developed road system that serves the most populated region in the state, and it is common to travel by small plane.
Some high school teams fly to sporting events against rival secondary schools, and the products are taken to many communities by barge or air.
The plane accident note The third largest US aviation accident. In eight days. A commercial plane and an army helicopter collided near the capital of the nation January 29, Kill 67 people. TO The medical transport plane crashed In Philadelphia on January 31, killing the six people on board and another person on the ground.
Bering Air serves 32 villages in western Alaska from the centers in Nome, Kotzebue and Unlakleet. Most destinations receive scheduled flights twice a day from Monday to Saturday.
Unalakleet is a community of approximately 690 people about 150 miles (about 240 kilometers) southeast of Nome and 395 miles (about 640 kilometers) northwest of Anchorage. The town is on the Iditarod path, the most famous sled dog race route in the world, during which Mushers and their teams must cross the frozen sound of Norton.
Nome, a gold city, is just south of the Arctic Circle and is known as the final point of 1,000 miles (1,610 kilometers). The city said the prayer vigils would take place on Friday for those aboard the plane, friends and family and those involved in search efforts.
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Golden reported from Seattle. Martha Bellisle in Seattle and Lisa Baumann in Bellingham, Washington, contributed to this report.
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