Helicopter family were flying home for Confirmation

Kevin and Ruth Burke were two of the occupants of the helicopter that crashed in the Welsh mountains

Alan O'Keeffe and Ralph Riegel

March 31 2017 2:30 AM

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• Helicopter family were flying home for Confirmation

  Independent.ie

  Five members of an Irish business family based in the UK died when the helicopter they were using to fly back to Ireland for a Confirmation crashed into a Welsh mountain.

  http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/helicopter-family-were-flying-home-for-confirmation-35581447.html

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Five members of an Irish business family based in the UK died when the helicopter they were using to fly back to Ireland for a Confirmation crashed into a Welsh mountain.

Three brothers who died in the helicopter tragedy were the sons of an Irish couple who emigrated to Britain.

Friends said they were "devastated" at the deaths of Milton Keynes-based construction millionaire Kevin Burke (57) and his brothers Barry and Donald.

Kevin's wife Ruth (49) and Donald's wife Sharon were also killed instantly when the private Twin Squirrel helicopter crashed into Rhinog mountain in the Snowdonia National Park in north Wales.

The family had been travelling from Luton to Dublin's Weston Airport to attend a family Confirmation.

"Six children have lost their parents in this tragedy," a family spokesman said.

A relative told this newspaper: "Kevin was a very experienced pilot. He never took chances. He was an excellent pilot."

Irish Independent