All five helicopter crash victims recovered, investigation to begin - police confirm

Police release photo of crash location (Inset: Two of the victims, Ruth and Kevin Burke)

Emergency services head to the crash site in north Wales. Photo: PA

Ruth Burke, who died in the helicopter crash in Wales

A footpath leading up the Snowdonia mountain range in north Wales where the search for theTwin Squirrel helicopter was focused early on Thursday (Image: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)

Vehicles parked outside the Llanberis Mountain Rescue station in the Snowdonia mountain range in north Wales (Image: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)

A vehicle parked outside the Llanberis Mountain Rescue station in the Snowdonia mountain range in north Wales (Image: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)

Vehicles parked outside the Llanberis Mountain Rescue station in the Snowdonia mountain range in north Wales (Image: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)

Handout photo taken with permission from the Twitter feed of @crugfarmplants of smoke rising from a mountain in the Yr Aran area of Snowdonia, as North Wales Police said that emergency services are at the scene of an incident involving a helicopter

Handout photo taken with permission from the Twitter feed of @huw_price of a rescue helicopter in the Yr Aran area of Snowdonia, as North Wales Police said that emergency services are at the scene of an incident involving a helicopter

A rescue helicopter searches over Barmouth as two boys and a man are missing in the sea off the Welsh coast in separate incidents

RNLI lifeboat and a rescue helicopter searching Barmouth Beach as two boys and a man are feared dead after they went missing off the Welsh coast in separate incidents

Kathy Armstrong and Alan O'Keefe

March 31 2017 4:50 PM

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• All five helicopter crash victims recovered, investigation to begin - police confirm

  Independent.ie

  All five people who lost their lives in a tragic helicopter crash have been recovered, North Wales Police confirmed this evening.

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All five people who lost their lives in a tragic helicopter crash have been recovered, North Wales Police confirmed this evening.

The five passengers' identities were also confirmed with the families' consent as Kevin and Ruth Burke, aged 56 and 49, Donald and Sharon Burke, aged 55 and 48 respectively and 51-year-old Barry Burke.  

All are from the greater Milton Keynes area. The family have strong Irish connections and were travelling from Milton Keynes to Dublin for a family Confirmation at the time of the crash on Wednesday evening.

The helicopter crashed into the Rhinog Mountains of Snowdonia.

Police release photograph of the location of the helicopter crash to indicate how difficult conditions are in the area

Police have released a photo of the area taken before the crash, to show how difficult conditions are in the area.

North Wales Police Chief Inspector Richie Green paid tribute to the professionalism, bravery and skill of all those involved in the operation. "Shortly before 3.30pm this afternoon the last of the five who were on board the helicopter were recovered and they have now been transported to a local hospitals mortuary," he said.

Ruth and Kevin Burke

"Thames Valley Police Family Liaison Officers have informed family members and we can now begin the very difficult process of formal identification.

"We’ll continue to support the family and I’d simply ask both media and public alike to respect their privacy at this time. 

"Our thoughts remain with the extended family and their friends."

The team's recovery operation was hampered earlier today by what were described as "treacherous" weather conditions.

Emergency services head to the crash site in north Wales. Photo: PA

Chief Inspector Green continued; "I would also like to thank the police officers and Mountain Rescue personnel not just for their dedication and skill in very trying conditions but also the dignified and compassionate manner in which the whole operation was conducted. 

"Now all the bodies have been recovered the joint investigation with the Air Accident Investigation Board will begin in earnest to establish how this accident happened.   

"Again with the family’s consent we are sharing a photograph of the scene taken before the ‘crash’ which gives some indication of the extremely difficult conditions we are working in."

"Until the helicopter is fully recovered the scene will remain cordoned and under Police & RAF guard so I’d remind people to please keep away from the area.  

"The temporary exclusion zone over the crash site with a height of 5500 foot above sea level remains in place but has been reduced to a 2 mile radius.  

"Recovery of the helicopter will begin, weather permitting, this weekend and led by the AAIB whilst North Wales Police will prepare a file for HM Coroner and assist the AAIB investigation.” 

The police are still requesting any witnesses that may have been the wider area of the incident on Wednesday evening.

He said: "The time parameters have changed, we want to hear from witness who might have seen anything between midday and one o'clock on Wednesday 29th March in the Trawsfynydd area, specifically to that time and that area please."

• Read More: Helicopter family were flying home for Confirmation

Tragedy

The family were travelling to Ireland for a confirmation when the tragedy happened.

A family spokesman said in a statement released to 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 upon looking after the children."

The Burke brothers were the sons of Donal and Noeleen Burke. Donal was a member of the De Burca family from the Kilcummin area on the North Mayo coast. He passed away three years ago.

Noeleen, who is in her 80s, is from Kimmage in Dublin.

Kevin Burke ran a successful construction firm, Staske Ltd, and the helicopter that crashed was owned by the firm. The couple have a 19-year-old daughter and a younger son.

Donald and Ruth are survived by a son and twin daughters. Barry is survived by his partner and one son.

A vastly experienced pilot, Kevin used the firm's helicopter to commute between the various development projects his firm undertook around the UK.

• Read More: What we know so far about the Snowdonia helicopter crash

A relative told this newspaper: "We were all a very close family. We're absolutely devastated.

"Kevin was a very experienced pilot. He never took chances. He was an excellent pilot and he had a lot of flight hours and he never took risks.

"They messaged me yesterday morning and they only decided to come when they checked the weather. The weather was supposedly OK, but it doesn't look like it was OK.

"We were all looking forward to seeing them. We're all devastated. They were lovely people and they were very family orientated. We were all very close."

Online Editors