Two dead, one hurt in helicopter crash on B.C. central coast

PORT MCNEILL — A British Columbia helicopter company says two people are dead and one person is injured after one of its aircraft went down on the central coast during forestry operations.

West Coast Helicopters says its pilot and a crew member from a logging company were killed when the Hughes 500 helicopter crashed in Loughborough Inlet around 6:15 a.m. on Tuesday.

BC Emergency Health Services says a third person was flown out by air ambulance, first to the Canadian Forces Base at Comox, B.C., then to hospital where they are in serious but stable condition.

West Coast Helicopters says the pilot had worked for them since 2021 and “always had a smile on his face.”