JUNEAU (AP) – The remains of all 10 people killed when their small plane crashed into ice on the Bering Sea have been recovered, authorities said.
The Nome Volunteer Fire Department made the announcement on its Facebook page on Saturday afternoon. Recovery crews had been racing to recover the bodies before a winter storm was expected to hit the region.
“All 10 individuals aboard the Bering Air plane have been officially brought home,” the fire department wrote in the social media post.
Crews were still working on recovering the aircraft, the fire department said.
The Bering Air single-engine turboprop plane was travelling from Unalakleet to the hub community of Nome when it disappeared on Thursday afternoon. It was found the next day after an extensive search with all nine passengers and the pilot dead, making it one of the deadliest plane crashes in the state in 25 years. The aircraft is on an ice floe that is drifting about eight kilometres a day, creating difficult conditions for recovery crews, said National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy during a press conference on Saturday afternoon.
“Please know that we’ll work diligently to determine how this happened with the ultimate goal of improving safety in Alaska and across the United States (US),” said Homendy.
As the community tried to process the deadly event, crews worked swiftly on unstable, slushy sea ice to recover the bodies and the wreckage.
Among those killed in the crash were Rhone Baumgartner and Kameron Hartvigson. They had travelled to Unalakleet to service a heat recovery system vital to the community’s water plant, according to the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. “The loss of these two incredible individuals and everyone else on board the plane will be felt all over Alaska,” Vice President of environmental health and engineering for the organisation David Beveridge said in a statement.
The pilot, 34-year-old Chad Antill of Nome, was also killed. The other victims ranged in age from 30 to 58 years old. The flight was a regularly scheduled commuter trip, according to Lieutenant Ben Endres of the Alaska State Troopers.
“It’s hard to accept the reality of our loss,” US Senator Lisa Murkowski said during an evening news conference. Nome Mayor John Handeland choked up as he discussed the deaths and the response effort.
“Nome is a strong community, and in challenging times we come together and support each other. I expect the outpouring of support to continue in the coming days as we all work to recover from this tragic incident,” Handeland said.
