Remains of employees and pilot recovered after helicopter crash in Alaska, officials say
By Macie Goldfarb and Rebekah Riess, CNN
(CNN) — The remains of four people aboard an Alaska Department of Natural Resources helicopter that crashed last week were recovered Sunday morning from the wreckage site in a tundra lake, officials said.
The remains of employees Ronald Daanen, 51, Justin Germann, 27 and Tori Moore, 26, along with pilot Bernard “Tony” Higdon, 48, were recovered by a search and rescue dive team about 50 miles outside of Utqiaġvik, Alaska, the state’s department of public safety said in a news release.
The employees, who worked for the Division of Geological and Geophysical Survey, were using a state-chartered helicopter on Thursday while conducting fieldwork in the vicinity of Utqiaġvik, but had not checked in that night, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources said in a Facebook post Friday.
The department initiated a search and rescue effort Friday and crews later found debris in a lake that matched the missing helicopter, officials said.
“The Department is beginning the process of grieving for our colleagues, supporting our team through this challenging time, and working with partner agencies to learn everything we can about this incident,” the Alaska Department of Natural Resources said in a Facebook post.
The bodies of those killed are being sent to the state’s medical examiner for an autopsy, according to a release from authorities. The National Transportation Safety Board told CNN Monday that its investigators will examine and document the wreckage once it has been recovered.
Utqiaġvik is the northernmost city in the United States, according to the city’s website.
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CNN’s Ashley R. Williams contributed to this report.
