Former PG Residents Killed On Sightseeing Flight In Fiji

By 250 News

A Canadian couple killed in the crash of a small plane on Fiji’s main island, Qamea, last Thursday has been identified as Ewald and Ute Krischner.

Ed, as he was known to friends here in Prince George, and his wife, Ute, both worked at Rand and Kirschner Taxidermy in the city prior to moving to Atlin in northern B.C. to run a trap-line.

Christine and Alfred Seida say they were notified about the fatal crash this weekend and are in shock.  Christine says she had just received a Christmas card from the couple, sent from Fiji.  She says the Kirschners had planned to travel on to New Zealand before returning home in March.

News accounts in Fiji say the plane was spotted going down on a mountain side.  It took emergency crews 24-hours to reach the site of the badly-burned aircraft and recover the bodies.  The 22-year-old pilot had just recently graduated from aviation school and owned the plane.

There are reports both Australia and New Zealand are refusing to send crash investigators to the island nation, which is still reeling from December’s military coup.

Email | Print | Facebook | Twitter | Digg | Del.icio.us