Chilliwack pilot killed in Honduras plane crash

By News Staff, the associated press and The Canadian Press

TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS — A British Columbia woman says her brother was killed in a plane crash in Honduras on Saturday. He was the pilot.

In a phone interview with The Canadian Press on Sunday, Jenna Forseth confirmed her brother, Patrick Daniel Forseth — who was from Chilliwack — was killed in the crash in the Roatan area, a popular island destination for tourists to the Central American country. She said her brother was “well-loved” in the area, and that “the whole town is in mourning.”

The family is expressing their grief and asking for privacy.

“The Forseth family, along with the other families, have suffered a tremendous personal loss and out of respect for the families, the ask that sufficient time be given to the professionals investigating the accident to find the actual cause of the accident without speculation on the cause. They further ask that the media have the courtesy to respect them in their time of mourning,” reads a statement.

Earlier on Sunday, Global Affairs Canada confirmed a Canadian citizen had died in the crash, but did not identify them due to privacy concerns.

The Piper Cherokee Six plummeted into the Caribbean Sea shortly after takeoff from the popular tourist destination en route to the port of Trujillo. The military said in a statement that rescue boats with police divers and firemen recovered four bodies within minutes of the crash, and transported another to a hospital, where he died shortly after of internal injuries.

Stefano Maro, with Global Affairs, says Canadian consular officials in the capital, Tegucigalpa, are in contact with local authorities and providing consular assistance to the victim’s family.

Local media report that all five people who died in the crash were foreigners, and the U.S. Department of State has confirmed that four were American citizens.

Maron says Global Affairs’ thoughts are with the Canadian citizen’s friends and family.

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