One person is dead after a plane made an emergency landing on a public road in northern B.C. Thursday afternoon.
Authorities said the aircraft—a Beech King Air 200—came down on Prince George’s Foothills Boulevard around 2:20 p.m. and collided with vehicles.
“We are sad to confirm there has been one fatality, an occupant of one of the vehicles,” said Cpl. Jennifer Cooper of the Prince George RCMP.
Cooper described Foothills as a “very busy roadway” connecting the city centre to the Hart subdivision in the north, and said two vehicles were damaged during the incident.
Paramedics tended to people at the scene, though the RCMP could not confirm how many occupants of the plane or vehicles may have been injured.
Premier David Eby addressed the incident in a social media post, saying: “My thoughts are with all those impacted by this tragedy.”
Few other details were available early Thursday evening, including what might have forced the plane to land in the city. That will be the focus of an investigation by the Transportation Safety Board.
In a brief statement, the TSB said a team has been deployed to assess the Beech King Air 200’s “emergency landing and collision with vehicles.”
In the aftermath of the crash, much of the RCMP’s resources were spent keeping onlookers away from the scene to avoid them getting in the way of emergency responders, Cooper said.
“We would like to put out a reminder that this is an active investigation, and people’s curiosity is just going to have to wait,” she added.
“Stay away from the area and stop trying to get in to take a peek.”
Police closed Foothills Boulevard in both directions Thursday afternoon, and warned locals it is likely to remain blocked off for 24 hours.
With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Spencer Harwood
