Heli crash: Five bodies are found in the hills

Major hunt ends with discovery of wreckage

FIVE bodies were found along with the wreckage of a missing helicopter yesterday.

Police and mountain rescue teams, who launched a major search after the aircraft failed to arrive in Dublin from the Luton area on Wednesday, made the grim discovery in north Wales.

The victims’ details had not been released last night but it’s believed they were members of the same family.

Two of them were named locally as Kevin and Ruth Burke from Hulcote, Bedfordshire.

The couple are directors of Staske Construction, the registered owners of a red Twin Squirrel helicopter.

It’s believed they were travelling with three family members to a christening in Dublin.

The exact location of the crash site in Snowdonia wasn’t revealed as efforts continued to recover the bodies from the “difficult and challenging terrain”.

The search was launched at 4.15pm on Wednesday after the chopper vanished from radar.

Superintendent Gareth Evans said: “Initially, its last known position was believed to be over sea in the Caernarfon Bay area but this was then narrowed to a land-based search coordinated by North Wales Police in Snowdonia, involving all local and RAF mountain rescue teams.

“Conditions were described as atrocious with visibility down to less than 30ft in places.”

Ruth is thought to originally be from Dublin.

A Hulcote resident said Kevin moved to the area from Manchester and that he leaves behind a son, 14, and daughter, 19.

A neighbour, Richard Mann, described him as an “astute businessman” who “always seemed very cheery”.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch said a team of inspectors had been sent to the crash site.