By Yereth Rosen
ANCHORAGE, Alaska, April 1 (Reuters) – An Alaska State
Troopers helicopter crashed during a rescue mission, killing all
three people onboard, including the stranded snowmobiler who had
summoned the troopers’ help, officials said on Monday.
Emergency workers reached the wreckage early on Sunday and
recovered the bodies of veteran rescue pilot Mel Nading, 55, of
Anchorage; Trooper Tage Toll, 40, of Talkeetna; and snowmobiler
Carl Ober, 56, also of Talkeetna, state officials said at an
Anchorage news conference.
The helicopter crashed near Talkeetna, a small town known as
the base for most expeditions on Mount McKinley.
Ober, injured after crashing his snowmobile, had called for
help, likely on a cellphone, officials said. Ober said he did
not have adequate gear to spend the night outdoors, officials
said.
The helicopter, used regularly in Alaska for rescues in the
wilderness, apparently crashed on Saturday night, officials
said. It failed to arrive at a rendezvous site to meet medics
late on Saturday, they said.
“This is a great tragedy and loss for us, the search and
rescue community and the state of Alaska,” Joe Masters,
commissioner of the Alaska Department of Public Safety, said at
the news conference.
The crash is being investigated by the National
Transportation Safety Board.
It was the first fatal aircraft crash for the state troopers
since 2001, and the sixth since 1974. Alaska state troopers
regularly use aircraft to travel around the vast state; many
communities lack road access, and the troopers are regularly
involved in search-and-rescue missions.
(Editing by Mary Wisniewski and Mohammad Zargham)
