4 feared dead in Alaska helicopter crash

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — No survivors were found after a helicopter carrying a pilot and three state workers crashed in a shallow lake in Alaska’s North Slope region, officials said Friday.

The helicopter had been chartered by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, the department said.

It was carrying three employees of the Division of Geological and Geophysical Survey who had been conducting field work.

“DNR [Department of Natural Resources] is praying for our employees and the pilot, their families, and the DNR team,” the agency said. “We are continuing to await updates from the search and rescue effort.”

The helicopter, a Bell 206, was reported overdue Thursday night. A North Slope Borough search-andrescue team in a helicopter found debris matching the description of the missing copter, but no bodies had been seen or recovered, said D.J. Fauske, the borough’s director of government and external affairs.

The wreckage was found in a shallow lake near Wainwright, about 50 miles south-southwest of Utqiagvik, the northernmost city in the U.S., formerly known as Barrow.

The flight originated in Utqiagvik and was supposed to return there, said Clint Johnson, chief of the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska region.

The helicopter was operated by Maritime Helicopters Inc., that company said. It confirmed the accident was fatal and said names of the pilot and passengers would be released pending notification of next of kin.

The borough notified the Federal Aviation Administration and state officials as well as the National Transportation Safety Board, Fauske said.

“The borough is here to help and we will pray for the missing,” he said.