Sightseeing plane crashes in B.C., injuring 3

Powell River on B.C.'s Sunshine Coast seen in this undated image. (Shutterstock)

Three people suffered only minor injuries after their sightseeing seaplane crashed Monday off the British Columbia coast.

Authorities say the plane crashed near Refuge Cove on the Sunshine Coast, while on a scenic tour of the region at approximately 7 p.m.

Officials with the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria received the call and dispatched the coast guard vessel Cape Caution and an inshore rescue boat to the scene.

“There were three people onboard and all were able to exit the plane when it crashed in the water,” JRCC spokesperson Capt. Pedram Mohyeddin said in an emailed statement Tuesday.

Pleasure-craft operators were already at the crash scene to pick up the injured when the coast guard arrived.

Const. Chris Bakker of the Powell River RCMP says all three occupants “were able to get out of the plane cabin and climb on to the pontoon” where they were rescued.

“Multiple boats in the area responded within minutes to rescue them,” he said in a statement.

The coast guard transported the injured occupants to Campbell River, where they were transferred to the care of paramedics.

B.C. Emergency Health Services says dispatchers received a call requesting medics at the Campbell River coast guard station at 8:52 p.m.

The agency sent one ambulance with primary care paramedics, who treated and transported one patient to hospital in stable condition.

“Two additional people received care and assessment from paramedics but did not require hospital transport,” paramedic spokesperson Brian Twaites said in an emailed statement.

Transport Canada is investigating the cause of the crash, but it is believed that weather may have played a role in the incident, according to the RCMP.