Pilot dead after helicopter crash near Slave Lake
Posted May 20, 2011 4:57 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SLAVE LAKE, Alta. (NEWS1130) – A helicopter fighting wildfires near Slave Lake has crashed, killing the pilot. Police say the male pilot, who was not identified, was declared dead at the scene.
Attempts to rescue the pilot led to a number of emergency workers having to be treated for hypothermia.
The aircraft that was involved in the fire-fighting effort went down in shallow water off the shore of Lesser Slave Lake.
The Transportation Safety Board says the Bell 212 craft belongs to Campbell Helicopters of Abbotsford and had been hired by the Alberta government to help fight several wildfires in the area.
City TV reporter Courtney Theriault was in the area today. “When I was there earlier, the sky was littered with water bombers and helicopters, but certainly that would seem to be the only reason anyone would be within a shouting distance of Slave Lake right now.”
He says weather conditions and visibility were pretty good in the area today.
About 7,000 Slave Lake residents had to flee their community last Sunday when high winds carried the flames into town and destroyed about a third of the community.
