‘Passionate, hardworking, and full of life’: B.C. couple killed in Alaska float plane crash remembered

RICHMOND (NEWS 1130) — Shock, disbelief and sadness — those are just some of the emotions felt by friends of a local couple who were killed when two float planes collided in Alaska.

Three of the six victims of the crash were from the same family: Elsa Wilk, her husband Ryan, and her brother Louis Botha. Wilk and her husband Ryan lived in Richmond and worked in the technology industry.

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Her ex-husband Ian Brink says her death was a huge shock, adding she was full of life, and passionate about her job.

“She was a very driven person. It was important for her to excel. She had a mind for numbers and statistics, so she got plugged into online marketing,” he says.

Outside of work, she pushed her mental and physical boundaries, excelling in Taekwondo and received her black belt.

“She had this itch to always push herself, her body and her mind,” Brink says. “Push herself to the maximum, and then see what you’re made of.”

WATCH: B.C. couple in Alaska plane crash

Wilk’s husband Ryan, who was born in Utah, is also being remembered by a former coworker as a hard-worker who made huge strides in the anti fraud industry.

“He just that great way to communicate, that boyish smile. He was one of the good ones. It’s a really sad day in the fraud-prevention world without him anymore,” Tim Potvin says.

RELATED: Canadian citizen among those killed in float plane crash in Alaska

“Always willing to give his time, and just extremely bright. His star rose so quickly, it was meteoric what he did in the fraud space.”

The couple along with Wilk’s older brother were just three of the six people who were killed in the crash.