Juneau, Alaska (AP) – The remains of all 10 people who were killed when their small plane crashed into ice on the Bering Sea, the authorities said.
The voluntary fire brigade of Nome made the announcement on its Facebook page on Saturday afternoon. Recovery crews race to restore the bodies before a winter storm is expected to hit the region.
“All ten people on board the Bering Air plane have been officially brought home,” the fire brigade wrote in the Social Media Post at around 3 p.m.
Crews were still working on repairing the plane, the fire brigade said.
The Bering Air Single-Engine Turboprop aircraft traveled from Unalautet 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 Aircraft crashes in the state in 25 years.
The plane is on an IJsfloeg that drives around 5 miles (8 kilometers) per day and creates difficult conditions for recovery crews, said the national chairman of the Jennifer Homendy security council during a press conference on Saturday afternoon.
“Please know that we will work diligently to determine how this happened with the ultimate goal of improving safety in Alaska and in the United States,” Homan said.
While the community tried to process the deadly event, crews quickly worked on unstable, slushy sea ice cream to restore the bodies and the wreck. The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advice, with snow and winds up to 45 miles per hour (72 kilometers per hour) to hit the region on Saturday evening, lasting until Sunday evening.
Among those killed during the crash, Rhone Baumgartner and Kameron Hartvigson were. They had traveled to Unalauweet to operate a heat distribution system that is vital for the water plant of the community, 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 everywhere in Alaska,” said David Beveridge, vice president of environmental health and engineering for the organization, in a statement.
The pilot, the 34-year-old Chad Antill van Nome, was also killed. The other victims varied in age from 30 to 58 years old.
The flight was a regularly planned fortress trip, according to Lt. Ben Endres of the Alaska State Troopers.
A photo of the coast guard showed the fragmented body and rubble from the plane lying on the sea ice. Two people in brightly colored emergency equipment circled the wreck.
“It’s hard to accept the reality of our loss,” said the American senator Lisa Murkowski during a news conference in the evening.
Mayor John Handeland choked in Nome when he discussed the dead and the response effort.
“Nome is a strong community, and in challenging times we come together and support each other. I expect that the output of the support will continue in the coming days, because we all work to recover from this tragic incident, “says Handeland.
The Cessna Caravan left Unala Kleet and officials on Thursday at 2.37 pm lost less than an hour later, according to David Olson, director of operations for Bering Air. There was light snow and fog, with a temperature of 17 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 8.3 degrees Celsius), according to the National Weather Service.
The coast guard said the plane was missing about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Nome.
Radar Forensic data provided by the US Civil Air Patrol indicated that the plane had a sort of event around 15.18 hours, so that they experience a quick loss of height and a fast speed loss’, Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Benjamin McINTYRE-COBLE said. “What that event is, I can’t speculate.”
McINTYRE-COBLE said he was not aware of emergency signals from the plane. Aircraft wear an emergency channel. If exposed to seawater, the device sends a signal to a satellite, which returns that message to the coast guard to indicate that an aircraft can be in need. Such messages were not received by the coast guard, he said.
Reders were looking for the last known location of the plane by helicopter when the wreck was seen, said Mike Salerno, a spokesperson for the American Coast Guard. Two rescue swimmers were lowered to investigate.
The National Transportation Safety Board sent nine people to the stage from different states.
Flying is an essential mode of transport in Alaska because of the vastness of the landscape and the limited infrastructure, and it is common to travel by small aircraft.
The crash signs of the plane The third major misdress of American aviation In eight days. A commercial jetliner and an army helicopter Collision near the capital of the country on January 29, 67 people kill. A Medical transport plane crashed In Philadelphia on January 31, where the six people on board and another person are killed on the spot.
Bering Air serves 32 villages in West -Alaska van Hubs in Nome, Kotzebue and Unala wart. Most destinations receive planned flights twice a day from Monday to Saturday.
“Our hearts are heavy in sorrow while we process this heartbreaking news,” Bering Air wrote in a statement on her website. “At the moment our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of those affected by this tragedy.”
A telephone line has been set up to give updates and emotional support to people who had loved ones on board, said Bering Air. The company asked for privacy for all involved and said it was committed to supporting authorities.
Unalauweet 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 village is on the Iditarod Trail, route of the world’s most famous sled dog race, in which Mushers and their teams have to cross the frozen Norton sound.
Nome, a Gold Rush city, is located just south of the polar circle and is known as the end point of the 1,000 miles (1,610 kilometers) Iditarod. The city said that prayer wakes would be held on Friday for those on board 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.