Mid-air collision in Canada kills 4, raining debris onto campsite below

PEMBERTON, BRITISH COLUMBIA (BNO NEWS) -- A small plane and a powered glider collided in mid-air in British Columbia on Saturday afternoon, killing all four people on both aircraft and sending down a rain of debris that nearly hit campers at a campsite below, officials said.

The accident happened at around 12:20 p.m. local time over the Nairn Falls Provincial Park south of Pemberton, not far from the resort town of Whistler in British Columbia. Responding officers discovered numerous pieces of debris and two aircraft that had crashed in the area.

"We received multiple calls of a mid-air collision at approximately 1220hrs today," said Sgt. Rob Knapton of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Whistler. "Officers from both our Whistler and Pemberton offices attended immediately and learned that a collision had occurred between a small Cessna and a powered glider."

Pemberton Search and Rescue and the Pemberton Fire Department searched the area for survivors, but were only able to recover the remains of four victims and a dog. The Cessna aircraft, from the town of 100 Mile House, was carrying a man, a woman and the dog while the Pemberton-based glider was carrying two others.

Knapton said the mid-air collision sent debris raining down over the Nairn Falls provincial campground, which has over 90 units and was full at the time of Saturday's accident. "Luckily no one was struck by the debris, although I understand that some debris fell within 20 inch (50 centimeters) of some guests," he said.

The cause of the accident was not immediately clear, but investigators from Whistler RCMP, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada and the BC Coroners Service were at the scene to investigate. "The TSB will be launching an investigation," agency spokeswoman Julie Leroux said.

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