Skiers' Helicopter Crashes; Three Killed

Skiers' helicopter

crashes; three killed

BLUE RIVER, B.C.

Three Canadians were killed and six others injured in the fiery crash of a helicopter flying skiers and snowboarders to a competition in the rugged Cariboo Mountains.

A spokesman for Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing of Banff, Alberta, said the Bell 212 helicopter owned by Canadian Helicopters of Edmonton was operating under charter to the heli-skiing firm.

Bob Sayer, a guide for Wiegele, said the helicopter crashed yesterday with 14 aboard after it rose 20 feet above the snow on takeoff from the 7,000-foot level in the Cariboo range, 110 miles north of Kamloops.

``It seemed to be an engine failure,'' Sayer said. ``The helicopter had to crash-land. It caught on fire and burned. People nearby were able to pull out and rescue most of them. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get three people out.''