Crews are working to recover the bodies of a father and son Sunday from the wreckage of a plane crash on Vargas Island near Tofino.
The Cessna 421b went down about 4 p.m. Saturday on the south side of Vargas Island, which is pretty flat but densely treed, said Cpl. Frank Flock from the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria.
The father and son, ages 51 and 25, are from Picture Butte, Alta., Flock said.
CBC identified the victims as Mike Van Den Berg and his father Jurrie. The flight is believed to have originated in Lethbridge, Alta. and had stopped in Abbotsford.
Mike was an avid pilot, said family friend Craig Sosick. They were "both very good guys, hardworking, dedicated, all-around very good businessmen," Sosick said.
Jurrie Van Den Berg owned a business called Porcupine Corral Cleaning Ltd., he said.
The RCMP was on scene Sunday as well as a Cormorant helicopter crew from 443 Squadron at CFB Comox.
Flock said the plane went down in fog and very poor visiblity. “The weather was terrible because of the fog."
The crash is under investigation by the RCMP, the coroner’s office and the Transportation Safety Board.
Cpl. Ray Jacobson of the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre said Mike Van Den Berg was piloting the aircraft, while his father was a passenger.
The plane left Abbotsford International Airport at 1:31 p.m. Saturday and was scheduled to arrive at Tofino airport at 3:01 p.m., according to flight data available online.
The aircraft was found in a boggy area surrounded by a large crater, prompting investigators to believe there was a high-speed impact and an explosion.
— With The Canadian Press
