TORONTO (AP) Three people are dead after a Canadian Coast Guard helicopter crashed into icy Arctic seas, officials said Tuesday.
The coast guard said the aircraft operating from the icebreaker Amundsen crashed Monday night in the M'Clure Strait off the coast of Banks Island in the western Arctic.
The dead include Marc Thibault, commanding officer of the ship, helicopter pilot Daniel Dube and Klaus Hochheim, a University of Manitoba science researcher.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has expressed his condolences.
The Messerschmitt BO-105 helicopter crashed during a routine mission to check ice conditions. The Amundsen is a dual-purpose vessel, assigned to ice-breaking in the winter and supporting scientific research in the summer.
