The two men killed in an air tanker crash this weekend while fighting forest fires in British Columbia have been identified as Capt. Tim Whiting, 58, and co-pilot Brian Tilly, 36.
Whiting, of Langley, B.C., and Tilly, of Edmonton, died Saturday evening when their plane went down near Lytton in the B.C. Interior.
Both were experienced pilots, according to their employer, Conair, which owned the aircraft. Whiting had spent the last 28 years fighting fires from the air throughout the province.
Their names were released Monday by Conair as authorities in B.C. continue to search for clues as to what caused the deadly crash.
"On behalf of all British Columbians, I would like to extend our sincere condolences to the families of the victims of this tragic plane crash," B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell said in a statement Sunday.
"As British Columbians, we owe a debt of gratitude to those who bravely put their lives in danger to keep our homes, our families and our communities safe."
Just last week, CTV News had interviewed Whiting about his experiences fighting fires from the sky.
"A wildfire is scary, and once it gets out of control and gets into some dry tinder, there's nothing that can stop it," he said.
The aircraft was contracted out to the B.C. Ministry of Forests and Lands as it fought a new fire near Siwash Road, located about 18 kilometres south of Lytton.
Witnesses reported seeing the plane fall from the sky. A second Conair aircraft that was shadowing the air tanker pinpointed the location of the crash site for crews on the ground.
Mounties and rescue workers were able to get within 350 metres of the crash on Saturday, but were forced to turn back due to rocky terrain and a growing wildfire sparked by the crash.
They eventually reached the site Sunday.
Man killed in accident
Meanwhile, a man who refused to obey an evacuation order in B.C. has died in an accident, as fires raged around the region.
The 52-year-old man died as he was chopping firewood on Sunday, when a tree fell and crushed him to death, according to the Globe and Mail.
The unidentified man died in front of his wife. Their home is located in Meldrum Creek, in the Cariboo Region.
Evacuation orders and alerts, as well as campfire bans, remain in effect across B.C. this weekend as crews struggle to contain more than 350 wildfires.
Roughly 250 firefighters and fire specialists from Alberta and Ontario have come to lend a hand. Fourteen air tankers and support aircraft are also flying in from Alberta and the Yukon.
With files from The Canadian Press
