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Canadian mining 'copter crash kills four

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Canadian transportation officials were at the scene Thursday of a four-fatality helicopter crash in British Columbia trying to determine the crash cause.

The Hughes MD 500 helicopter faltered before crashing about 7 a.m. Wednesday in ruggedly mountainous central western British Columbia, The Province newspaper in Vancouver reported.

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The craft had been chartered by Bravo Venture Group, a Vancouver mining exploration company. The crash killed the pilot, two drillers and a logistics employee from Coast Mountain Geological, the report said.

Lt. Jill Strelieffa of the Joint Rescue Coordination Center told reporters a Cormorant helicopter and Buffalo aircraft were sent to the scene and two rescue technicians parachuted into the crash site.

The helicopter was found upside down in the icy and swift-flowing Kitsault River, CTV News said.

All four bodies were recovered and the Transportation Safety Board was investigating the site Thursday, the reports said.

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