Five people from the same family have been killed in a helicopter crash in north Wales.
Two of those thought to have been on board were named locally as construction businessman Kevin Burke, 57, and his wife, Ruth, from Hulcote, Milton Keynes. They were travelling with three other family members to Dublin where, it is understood, they were to attend a christening.
A North Wales police spokesman confirmed the five victims, all adults, were part of the same extended family from the Milton Keynes area.
The bodies were found with the wreckage of a red Twin Squirrel helicopter following a massive air and land search launched on Wednesday afternoon when the aircraft vanished after taking off from a private address in the Luton area.
The couple are directors of the Staske Construction company, which is the registered owner of a Twin Squirrel. Kevin Burke, a qualified pilot, was believed to originally be from Manchester, while his wife was from Dublin.
The couple have a daughter, 19, and son, 14, it was reported. A spokesman for the family told the Milton Keynes Citizen: “Six children have lost their parents in this tragedy. At this stage, the family wants to be left alone to be able to deal with their grief over this terrible loss and concentrate on looking after the children.”
A mountain rescue team found the wreckage in the Rhinog mountains in what the force described as difficult and challenging terrain. Weather conditions were described as atrocious with search teams operating with visibility of less than 10 metres.
Efforts to recover the bodies were proving difficult and faced being suspended overnight, due to worsening weather conditions, and formal identification of the bodies had not yet taken place. A force spokesman said: “Owing to the nature and remoteness of the terrain, the poor weather conditions and the absolute need to carry out this delicate task with sensitivity and dignity, it may take some time.”
Kevin Burke, a former deputy chairman of Hulcote and Salford parish councils, was described by one source as an experienced pilot who flew to Manchester almost daily.
Neighbours said the couple had moved into their house just before Christmas. Richard Mann, 78, told the Press Association, it had been a total shock hearing the news.
Supt Gareth Evans said: “The aircraft, a red Twin Squirrel helicopter, had failed to arrive in Dublin from Luton yesterday [Wednesday] afternoon, instigating a full sea and then land search-and-rescue operation.
“Initially, its last known position was believed ‘over sea’ in the Caernarfon Bay area, but this was then narrowed to a land-based search coordinated by North Wales police in Snowdonia involving all local and RAF mountain rescue teams.
“Formal identification has not taken place so details of the passengers are not being revealed at this time. Families of those on board the aircraft are being supported by specialist police family liaison officers. The incident is being investigated by the Air Accident Investigation Branch.”
Police are appealing for help from the public and asked anyone who sighted the aircraft flying over Snowdonia on Wednesday to contact the force.
