RCMP recover 3 bodies after float plane crash off Vancouver Island
Mounties say they have recovered the bodies of all three people who were aboard a float plane that crashed off B.C.'s central coast last week.
The crash occurred Wednesday afternoon in Strachan Bay, about 50 kilometres north of Port Hardy.
Wreckage of the plane wasn't found until two days after the crash on Friday, despite immediate search efforts.
On Monday, the RCMP said the bodies of all three people aboard were located over the weekend.
"Efforts to locate the plane and any potential survivors have been ongoing since the day of the crash,” said Cpl. Alex Bérubé, spokesperson for the BC RCMP, in a statement.
"Working through challenging weather conditions, our divers were able to locate the bodies of the pilot and the two passengers on Saturday, Nov. 26," he said.
Police say there's no suspected criminality involved in the crash.
The BC Coroners Service is continuing its investigation and is now in possession of the bodies.
Shortly after the crash, Port Hardy Mayor Patricia Corbett-Labatt told CTV News the fatal crash was "devastating" for the community.
The plane was heading from a logging camp in B.C.'s central coast to Port Hardy.
The plane was owned by Air Cab, which is based out of Coal Harbour, near Port Hardy.
Joel Eilersten, owner of Air Cab, told CTV News that he had ongoing concerns about two weather stations in the area that had been out of service for quite some time.
After the crash occurred, the Transportation Safety Board said it was dispatching investigators to the scene.
With files from CTV News Vancouver Island's Gord Kurbis and The Canadian Press.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Risky' for Ottawa to take strings-attached approach to health-care negotiations: Jean Charest
As negotiations continue between premiers and the federal government, former Quebec premier Jean Charest is criticizing the feds' string-attached approach to health-care funding, stating that Ottawa should not be in the business of operating health-care systems.

PM Trudeau presents premiers $196B health-care funding deal, with $46B in new funding over the next decade
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
A sensor you draw with a pencil could be used for 'smart diapers,' contactless switches and respiratory monitors
We may soon be able to detect humidity levels, respiratory changes or a too-wet diaper, all with a new type of sensor — one created by drawing with a pencil on specially-treated paper.
Inflation 'turning the corner' after multiple rate increases: BoC governor
After raising interest rates eight consecutive times, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem told an audience in Quebec City on Tuesday that inflation is showing signs of 'turning the corner' and that the coming year 'will be different.'
LIVE @ 9 ET | Biden aims to deliver reassurance in State of Union address
U.S. President Joe Biden is ready to offer a reassuring assessment of the nation's condition rather than roll out flashy policy proposals as he delivers his second State of the Union address on Tuesday night, seeking to overcome pessimism in the country and concerns about his own leadership.
How more than 100 women realized they may have dated, been deceived by the same man
An Ontario man is being accused of changing his name, profession and life story multiple times to potentially more than 100 women online before leaving some out thousands of dollars.
Balloons and drones among 768 Canadian UFO reports from 2022: researcher
Balloons and drones were among 768 reported UFO sightings in Canada last year, according to Winnipeg-based researcher Chris Rutkowski, who also found that eight per cent of all cases remained unexplained.
Alec Baldwin wants prosecutor in on-set death case dropped
Defence attorneys for actor Alec Baldwin are seeking to disqualify the special prosecutor in the case against him stemming from the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on a New Mexico film set.
Newborn, toddler saved from rubble in quake-hit Syrian town
Residents digging through a collapsed building in a northwest Syrian town discovered a crying infant whose mother appears to have given birth to her while buried underneath the rubble from this week's devastating earthquake, relatives and a doctor said Tuesday.