Crews Spend Hours Searching For Crash Site, Assisted By Survivor's Cell Messages

Of seven people onboard, only two survived the Sunday morning crash of a chartered Grumman Goose near Port Hardy, British Columbia.

CBC News reports the Pacific Coastal amphibian, carrying employees of the Seaspan International shipping company, went down shortly after takeoff from Port Hardy at 7:00 am PDT. The plane was heading for a logging camp near the village of Kyuquot, on Chamiss Bay.

Search and rescue crews made contact with one of the survivors via cell phone early Sunday afternoon, but crews spent hours searching the dense brush before the wreckage was discovered.

"The survivor could see the search aircraft, but it was five hours before the crash site was located in the heavy tree coverage," one official said.

Both survivors were transported to a nearby hospital in Comox, with one reportedly in good condition and the other suffering unknown injuries. Officials have not identified any of the victims, pending notification of family members.

Pacific Coastal notified authorities of the missing flight at around 10 am PT, and launched its own search before asking rescue officials to step in. Two aircraft -- a Buffalo CC115 turboprop and a Cormorant helicopter -- assisted in the search effort.

FMI: www.pacificcoastal.com, www.seaspan.com