Prince George, BC – The bodies of the three men killed in a helicopter crash west of Terrace early Friday morning have been recovered by investigators.

The A-Star owned by Bailey Helicopters of Fort St. John was on a training flight with three employees on-board when it went down on Sleeping Beauty Mountain, west of Terrace.  An emergency beacon signal was detected just before 11am, but a mix of rain and snow and the risk of avalanche prevented rescuers from getting into the crash scene.

Terrace RCMP Inspector J.D. Hart says weather conditions improved today and investigators with the Transportation Safety Board, BC Coroner’s Service and RCMP were able to get to the site after avalanche technicians removed some of the dangerous snowpack above the wreckage.

Inspector Hart says the bodies of all three men were recovered with assistance from members of Terrace Ground Search & Rescue and the Terrace Fire Department.  He says police have identified the victims, but are not confirming their identities until all of the families have been notified.

"Authorities say conditions at the wreckage site remain dangerous and that during recovery efforts, a small slide was encountered," adds the inspector.  "The site and wreckage are now in the hands of the Transportation Safety Board who are continuing to remove the wreckage from the site."